Until Your Heart Stops Beating
by Reaghan981
Summary: Linzie Dayton has recently moved to Forks, Washington under the cloud of tragedy bringing her brother and secrets with her. What will her sudden appearance change for a certain russet colored wolf? Read o find out. JB/OC Pairing.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Twilight Saga, its character's, etc. They belong soley to Stephanie Meyer. Any character that you do not recognize are my creation, but that is all htat I do own.

Prologue

I can distinctly remember the last night of normalcy I was blessed with, the last night that my family was alive and my older brother was human. There was snow covering the ground in the small town that I was raised it. It glittered like a thousand diamonds in the moon light. I stood on the front pourch for an uncountable amount of time letting the peace seep into my body and mind even as the cold bit at my exposed skin. My mother was the only one up and the T.V. was playing in the background. I could hear her shifting in her recliner as her soft laugh reached my ears through the door. It always reminded me of the tinkling of bells. I could hear my father's light snores coming from the back bedroom and my brother's stereo playing quietly in his room. The song some new age rock hit that he absolutely loved, the same one he plays everytime he's in the car today. It was something I took for granted then. Something that was boring and uneventful even on the most exciting days. Now, they are something I cherish. They are something that also make me regret who I am and what my job is today. It is not something you can run from or I would, believe me.

My name is Linzie Dayton. I am seventeen years old, an orphan, and a mythical being. Well, at least that is what I call it. I am The Slayer, not a, THE. There have been many throughout history and all of them have been leading up to my birth. I killed my first vampire at thirteen. Three years later, an elite group of vampires came to my home, slaughtered my parents, and changed my brother. The Volturi. They had been able to find , train, and then kill all the other slayers. It was their way of keeping a check on their power, their way of looking for me. None had ever reached the age of maturity apart from me. I'm trapped in the body of a seventeen year old until one of them can succeed in killing me. I look a bit older than that, not much. Maybe five years. Sadly, unlike vampires, my body still functions. I'm still a normal human. Except for the immortality part. I still have a freakin period. The only good part about that is I can have kids.

After my parents were murdered and my borther was changed, we took a year away from civilization. I would not be able to stop myself from killing my brother if he ever harmed a human. It's just not how I worked. So, we rented a small house off in the woods in order for him to gain control of his blood lust. He always said that having a slayer as a sister helped him not want to taste human blood. He helped me train. I knew how older vampires worked. They were not so focused on eating people that they could not defend themselves, and more often than not they never went for the obvious kill. Carson was a way for me to learn how to fight against newborn. Now, I'm glad that I did.

We left home about a week ago, days after my high school graduation, in order to move to a place where we knew there to be other creatures of myth. Forks, Washington was our new home. The house we live in was as close to our childhood home as we could find. It was red brick with three bedrooms. The floors were hardwood and the walls painted in warm earthy colors. It was home, or close enough to it. I did not have a job and Carson could not have one, but the money left to us by our parents could last us a lifetime. We moved everything we had into that house. It was not much. We needed furniture and dishes, things of that nature. Carson had the house stocked with food that he could never eat. To be honest, I am pretty sure it will take me over a month to comsume it all.

That first week of semi-normalcy could not have prepared me for the frightening adventure that we were about to be thrust into. Carson and I had known when we moved in that there was a coven of Vampires here in Forks, but that was the only creatures we were aware of. Looking back on it now, I could not believe how utterly stupid I was.


	2. Welcome to Forks!

Disclaimer: Yet again, I don't not own Twilight or any of Stephanie Meyers' characters.

Author's Note: This is my very first Twilight fan fiction. I hope all of you are enjoying it. I sincerely like getting reviews, whether you like my story or not. Criticism is welcome. I believe it helps me become a better writer. With that said, I would appreciate the feed back. I'm leaving you guys with a cliffhanger. The next chapter will be when we meet the Cullen's and Bella. It should be out in the next few days. At least, that is my hope. Please review. It makes me happy!

It was green, entirely to green in my opinion, but beautiful. Looking out of the living room window and into the forest made me feel like I was staring into another world. One of wonder, beauty, adventure, and happily ever afters. A place I believed in as a child. One my mother brought to life every night before I feel asleep. Sadly, that innocence and blind faith had been ruthlessly taken from me many years ago. Sighing, I turned from the onslaught of memories best left alone and watched as Carson moved the furniture around...again. This was the tenth time in the past week that our living room sat in a jumbled mess. I guess it happens when you can no longer sleep. You need something to pass the time.

He flashed me a sheepish, lopsided grin as our eyes met. Mine a warm honey color and his the sparkling topaz that took the place of his chocolate iris' when his change was complete and his thirst was sated. The guilt beat at me then. Just as it always did when he smiled, when he laughed. I always felt like he was trying to comfort me for what I had taken from him. Nevertheless, I smiled back. I barely had time to notice him move and then when I blinked our living room was arranged exactly as it had been that first day. I laughed at the proud smile he gave the room and shook my head. The furniture he moved everyday was currently acting as my bed. Carson and I were waiting for the truck from the furniture store to pull up. The house was basically bare. We had a couch, loveseat, a chair, and our entertainment center in the living room. The kitchen only held a few pots and pans and our great grandmothers kitchen table. The rest of the rooms held nothing but our clothes. It was depressing in a way. I was seventeen and had just graduated from high school. Carson was twenty-two and what I just described was what we had left of our old life.

He sat gracefully beside me on the loveseat. It was the only piece of furniture that I did not allow him to move from its previous placement. He was watching me. Well, maybe not me per se, more like my eyes. His normally bright face darken and his smile did an about-face into a frown. I knew what he saw in my eyes, but I could not stop the emotions from playing out. Even when he was human he knew what I was thinking just by looking at my face, my eyes. Carson was my brother and my best friend.

"Linz." He sighed and swiped his hand down his face in sadness.

"What?"

My voice sounded hoarse, unused. Like I had been unable to speak for a very long time. I barely recognized it. Carson looked at me and took in the shocked look that filtered across my face. If that is how my voice sounded, I did not even want to imagine how wrong my laugh was. He smiled gently and took my small hand into his. His skin, which use to be just as warm and inviting as his smile, was hard and ice cold. I shivered and drug in a breath.

"You have to stop doing this to yourself, sweetheart."

"I'm not doing anything to myself, Carson." My eyes narrowed at his raised eyebrow and the pain that flashed in his eyes. Anger followed next.

"Yes, you are. Torturing yourself over what happened isn't going to make it any better, Linzie! You couldn't have stopped it anymore than I could have."

His eyes flashed in his anger and I cowered under its intensity. This was not me. I never backed down before... I could not even thing about it. He was right and I knew it. I knew he missed his sister, the person I was before. The one who had a quick tongue, a famous temper, and a heart of gold. But I just could not seem to find her in me anymore. He got on his knees before me and pulled my face up so our eyes could meet.

"You don't even hunt anymore, Linz. Right after, you were gone all the time. What happened to keeping other families safe?" I sighed and then granted him a small smile.

"I just needed a break, Car. Once we get everything settled it will go back to business as usual."

He opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by the knock at our door. I smirked, patted his head, and went to allow the movers to do their jobs. It took a little less than two and a half hours to get everything we had bought inside and organized. I had never been more excited to see a bed in my life. Carson stood in my doorway watching me put my stuff away, laughing and attempting to annoy me the entire time. It was times like these when I could forget that our parents had been killed and convince myself that they were still back in Tennessee just waiting to hear how our move was going.

"So, I was thinking..."

"Uh oh, someone alert the police." I chuckled.

"Oh, ha ha. It's not that uncommon." I nodded and waved my hand to tell him to continue," Like I said, I was thinking that maybe we should go and talk to the Cullen's tonight."

"Why tonight?" I questioned turning to face him.

"We've been here for a week. It won't be that long before you start checking the place over and I'm going to have to eat soon."

"So, in other words, you want us to go at tell them we're here so they don't try and kill you for hunting and me for snooping around?"

"Pretty much." he said smiling.

The night was peaceful and cool, even for the beginning of summer. It was nothing like the weather we were use to. The norm for us was stifling days and muggy night. It was the kind of temperature that allowed you to fry eggs on the sidewalks and causes heat strokes. To go from that too mild days and cool nights was not something that I could get use to in a week, but it was refreshing. The trees sped past us in green blurs as the wind whipped my hair back, leaving a trail of glimmering chocolate flashing behind me. Carson was running in heart stopping patterns beside me, laughing when he hit the trees. If he kept up with his stunts, the entire forest would no longer be standing.

Carson stumbled and I shook my head in amazement. Only a vampire could make that appear graceful. I let loose a laugh as a stray branch smacked his face and crumbled. This was more like it. When he suggested that we run to the Cullen's, I was anxious. I eventually gave in when he promised to hunt on the way. Carson stopped abruptly and I followed his lead, glancing around the forest tensely.

"What is it?"

He held up his hand to silence me and took in a long breath through his nose. His face scrunched in disgust at whatever it was that he smelled and I arched my eyebrow. His sharp eyes were taking in everything at once, or so it seemed too me. My eyesight was just as good, but I was beginning to wonder if maybe I had missed something. His sparkling eyes met mine and I saw the anger, disgust, and slight fear in their depths. Not fear for himself, but for me. My body tensed instinctively as my eyes began to meticulously search ever tree, bush, and fallen log surrounding us. I came up empty.

"Carson?" His eyes snapped to mine.

"Do you smell that?" he questioned.

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. I was sure of it. We had stopped so suddenly because he smelled something? Was he serious? I humored him and took a deep breath in. I could smell the sweet scent of the dew clinging to the leaves of the trees, the sharpness of the soil, and something else. Some odd combination of the forest and spice, with a hint of muskiness too it. The scent was not something that should have caused Carson this kind of wariness, nothing that sent warning bells going off in my head. I looked at him in confusion.

"Wet dog."

That was all he had to say to raise the hairs on my body. I knew what the wet dog smell meant, but I could not smell it. I grabbed his hand and yanked as I took off at a speed entirely to fast for humans. Then I heard them. It was not right. Werewolves did not run in packs. They were too violent for such companionship. They always ran solo. They did not have to share their prey that way. I spun and ducked as the first attack came my way, hoping Carson moved fast enough to avoid it. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed that they had divided into two groups. One was coming after me and the other after Carson. It was like they were giving and following orders. The large black wolf lead two after Carson while the largest russet colored one lead the rest after me.

I pivoted midsprint turning myself to face the onslaught. I had fought werewolves before, but these were different. They obviously were not bloodthirsty. It was a good thing too. If they had been, I would have been in serious trouble. Not that I was not to begin with. They circled me quickly only stopping for a split second in order to get their thoughts together I suppose. It was enough for me to notice the intelligence they held. It was human. I was sure of it, but that did not make any sense. The leader of the group flew at me. It was in perfect position to land on top of me, crushing me to death. Luckily, I was not your typical human female. I knew without a doubt that it was not expecting me to stand and fight them, but they were very, very wrong. I moved as the enormous animal landed exactly where I had been standing mere seconds before and swung. My fist connected with its muzzle causing it to yelp and the other's to lunge for me.

It took no more than three minutes for me to fight my way through the group, but I still had the slight problem of dealing with the russet colored mutant standing before me. I was breathing heavily and so was the wolf. The both of us locked in an intense staring match meant to size up an enemy. This time I attacked first. I did not want to give it any lead way. Sadly, I did not realize just how fast something that massive could move. It's front paw racked across my side and I gritted my teeth against the pain, kicking out as I fell. I knew that I had executed my attack perfectly from the pain filled howl that sliced through the air. I felt my heart clinch at the sound, but I jumped up quickly, placing my hand tenderly against my side. I hissed through my teeth and pulled my hand away to see that it was coated in blood and groaned before I ran towards Carson.

As I approached the on-going fight, I had a moment of clarity. These animals were far more than wolves, they were protectors. Protectors of what I was not sure, but I intended to find out. I sped towards them and wrapped my small hand around Carson's wrist effectively removing him from the fight. We ran, as cowardly as that seems, and with on final snap at our heels the wolves retreated.


	3. The Cullen's and Explainations

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight, the characters, etc.

Author's Note: Well here it is. Chapter Three. I'm writing the chapter four now, and I'm really excited. It will however be one of the few chapters that changes from Linzie's POV to Jake's, so bare with me. Don't forget to review! I love hearing from you guys!

I was shaking as we came to a stop just before the tree line in the Cullen's backyard. There was not a single noise coming from the house that I could hear. Then again, they did have a huge yard and house from what I understood. Carson stood beside me, arms crossed and glaring at the top of my head but my mind was far to preoccupied to care. What the _hell _were those things? Better yet, where in the crap did they come from? I forced myself to take slow breaths in order to calm my furiously beating heart. My side burned and I could still feel some blood leaking through the fabric of my coat.

"You're bleeding." I glared up at Carson. I was well aware of the fact that I was freaking bleeding! Thank you, Mr. Obvious!

"Oh, really?" I snapped, "I wasn't aware of that particular fact. I thought it would be a good idea to see if my completely human body could stand up to giant, mutant dogs!"

"Giant, mutant dogs? You act like they ran through a vat of toxic waste."

I punched him. He glared. We laughed. Welcome to the Dayton's, folks.

Carson lifted my shirt and shook his head. As much as I hated how cold he was now, I have to admit that it felt nice against the gash on my side. He placed my shirt back over the claw marks and tugged on my hand gently. I knew he was pulling me towards the Cullen's, but I did not expect the smell to hit me as hard as it did. My nose wrinkled against the sickening sweetness. You would think that living with a vampire would make you immune to the disgusting smell, but Carson was only one vampire not seven. We walked cautiously around to the front steps and before we made it up to the door, it was being pulled open. I arched my eyebrow at the vamp standing before us. If I was not certain that pixies did not exist I would think I was staring at one. She stood with door standing wide open. Her hair was short and dark, her eyes were the exact color of Carson's, and she was petite and pale white. Her lips tipped up in a small smile.

"Hello. I'm Alice Cullen." she said in a tinkling voice, "We've been expecting you two."

The vampire, Alice, took a step back and made a gesture telling us that it was ok to come in. I looked at Carson who, at present, was watching the pixie looking vampire warily and walked past him and into the house. I was not so enveloped in my own mind that I did not notice her tense slightly as I passed. Carson walked close to my side as we followed her into their living room. It surprised me to see how open and inviting their house was. We were barely standing in the room when Carson gently took my wrist in his hand and pulled me to a stop. I glanced at him briefly before I allowed my eyes to move around the room. Either my math was way off, which would not surprise me in the slightest, or we had been missed informed. Eight people stood before us staring curiously. Carson took control as he stepped between me and them and spoke.

"We are really sorry for intruding. I'm Carson Dayton and this," he said, taking a slight step to the side as I stepped forward, " is my sister, Linzie."

I nodded and said a polite "Hey", before I allowed myself to size up the room full of ticks. Yes, I call them ticks. The two standing nearest too us introduced themselves as being Carlisle and Esme, the groups "parents". The one who met us at the door, Alice, was standing by a male that looked like he was having quite a bit of trouble keeping his head. His name was Jasper. Then there was Emmett, who gave a broad smile that reminded me of Carson, and Rosalie, who scrunched up her nose in what seemed to be disgust. I rolled my eyes and raised my eyebrow in a challenging short of way. All that earned me was a jab in my already injured side and a hiss from the blonde. Last, but not least, was Edward and Bella. The latter of the two I stared at rather rudely. What can I say? I was curious. It did, however, gain me the second painful jab in my side. I glared up at my brother.

"If you value that arm, Carson, I would suggest that you watch where you jab me the next time you think I'm being rude." He glared back for only a minute before it registered why I was threatening him in an unknown place. He gave me an apologetic smile after that which forced me, against my will, to roll my eyes.

"Won't you please take a seat?" Esme, I believe it was anyways, asked us politely.

"I'm fine, thank you," Carson said, pushing me onto the couch," Linzie, however, is going too."

"I can walk!" Everyone in the room chuckled as I sat down, swatting Carson's hands away from me," Actually Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, we came here for a reason. Carson and I..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Carlisle said, taking a step towards me, " but I was wondering what happened to you, dear."

"Giant, mutant dogs attacked us according to Linzie." Carson said guardedly. At the same time, he was trying to lessen the tension.

There was a gasp to my right and I locked gazes with the only other human in the room. Her hair was long, cut into layers, and a dark brown. Her eyes were the color of chocolate, and she was pale with the exception of her cheeks that were red in her embarrassment. There was nothing extraordinary about her that I could see. She was actually quite plain. I could feel everyone else burning holes into the back of my head until I finally turned and face the room again. My questions were overly obvious in my eyes as I watched the Cullen's glance at each other in what I guess was surprise.

"You know about them, don't you?" It was a question with a very obvious answer, but I asked it anyway. Carlisle cleared his throat.

"If you would allow it, Ms. Dayton..."

"Linzie."

"Linzie, I would like to take a look at the wound, possibly clean and bandage it?"

"Sure, Doc, if that's what you want to do. It'll be healed by tomorrow, though." Carlisle glanced at me curiously, then he smiled.

"I would like to clean it all the same."

Carlisle helped me up from the couch and I followed him up the stairs and into his office. He waved me over to the desk and I slid onto the rich, dark wood. I could hear the others talking and laughing with and, if I knew Carson, at my brother. I tried not too laugh at the crash I heard coming from downstairs as Carlisle walked back towards me with everything he needed. I slipped my coat off and discarded the tank top I had been wearing. Carlisle just smiled, dipped the rag into the bowl of clean water, and began removing the blood from my wound. We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply listening to our families get to know each other. I smiled up at the ceiling. It was my way of letting my parents know that we were going to be okay.

"How did you acquire the other scars?" I looked into the doctors eyes for a few seconds before I pointed to one peeking up from under my jeans.

"This one was from an appendectomy when I was five," I pointed to the next one my other side, "This one I got from a nomad in Missouri. He was rather vicious. This one," I said, pointing to a thin, jagged scar running from my collarbone on my left and ending just over my right breast," I received from a werewolf around home. It was the first one I had every fought, so I didn't know what to expect."

"It takes great strength for a human to fight off a creature such as a werewolf. I suppose Carson came to your rescue?" he asked kindly. I smiled at him.

"All of these were before Carson was changed. I was alone." He's eyes found mine and shock was clearly written across his face. I cleared my throat and looked out the window.

"How is that possible?"

"That's what Carson and I came to speak with you about." he raised his eyebrow and I smiled, "Okay, it was one of the things we came to speak with your family about." I slipped my tank top on again, " Let's go downstairs and I'll explain everything."

We were all trying to get comfortable, well, Bella and I were. Everyone else either sat down elegantly or remained standing at different places around the room. Carson and Emmett had hit it off well, and that made me smile. I was glad that my brother had found a friend outside of his human sister. Now, someone could finally go hunting with him other than me. I cleared my throat and waited for everyone to quiet down, it only too a few seconds.

"Well, I guess the only place to start is the very beginning," I sighed at looked at my brother, who smiled at me encouragingly," At the age of thirteen, I was as normal as anyone else on the planet. I had parents, a football playing older brother, and friends. I lived in Nashville, Tennessee. Okay, we lived on the outskirts. Our parents had bought the house from a friend and fifty acres to go along with it when I was ten. The night in question, I was walking back to the office building that my mother worked in. I had just left a friend and her mother. It wasn't far to the building so I didn't take the ride that was offered." I raised my eyes from my lapped and watched the reactions. "In the alley beside my destination I saw something. At first, I didn't know what was going on. Plenty of teens use to use alleys for..."I laughed shortly, "Well, you get the idea. I stepped into the opening a few steps and then I good here the girl crying. I don't know what made me do it, or why I even thought a thirteen year old girl could do anything, but I ran towards them. I thought that the girl was going to be raped and that if they heard me coming they would run. That was the farthest thing from what happened."

My eyes clouded over with tears and I looked away from everyone. Carson was the only person who knew this story and the affects that the outcome had on me. I could still see it clearly. The girl, who could not have been any older than I was now, was pale and dying right in front of me. Her hair was blonde and her eyes a crystal blue that I'll never forget. The way she looked at me. The horrified realization that she was not getting out of that alley alive was burned into my memory. Thankfully, the vampire did not change her. I shivered and raised my eyes to Carson's as he began where I left off.

"When Linzie got close enough to realize that something really bad was happening she froze. She told me about it after I had been changed. She doesn't know how she knew what to do, but she did. She fought and killed her first vampire that night, left the thing burning as she ran up to our mom's office. She called the police then, but she only told them that she had seen the girl left by a burning fire and that she was covered in blood. She had nightmares for days. A few months later is when the sneaking out started. It was only one night a week for a while, but when she got to high school it was all week long." He sat down beside me and took my hand.

"I had a women that was helping me train. She called herself a Guardian, the real Guardian, and warned me about this elite group of vamps that impersonated and killed them in order to train girls like me. Apparently, that's what happened to the girl before me. She got too close to maturity and they killed her."

"What are you, exactly?" Jasper asked. I looked at him and smiled. I knew Carlisle knew about me. Okay, he did not know it was me but he knew about my kind.

"I'm The Slayer."

Everyone, with the exception of Carlisle, looked beyond confused. It was obvious that Carlisle had heard of others like me before. No one said anything for at least ten minutes, and when they finally started to speak one of their cell phones went off. I knew I had bee let off the hook as Edward faced his father. The spoke swiftly to each other before turning and facing us. Edward glanced at Bella briefly before his eyes fell on me in what appeared to be anger. I looked between the two of them before allowing my eyes to rest on Carlisle.

"Is everything alright?" Carson asked.

"It seems that one of the wolves were injured during your fight tonight." he told everyone, his eyes never leaving me, "Jacob is in quite a bit of pain and seems to be having trouble breathing. They..."

"Jake's hurt? How badly?"

"I believe the good doctor was going to explain before you interrupted." I looked at the girl and then looked at Carlisle," Thankfully, I can tell you what happened to him, but I'll only extend that courtesy if you tell me how the hell those things go from wolf to human."


	4. Perfect

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight.

Author's Note: So this is chapter four. I hope you like it. I know I have left you with a cliffhanger the past two chapters, so I hope you like this one as it will not have one. As always, review. It makes me happy. I really need a beta as well. So if anyone is interested, message me. Thank you.

Linzie's POV

And explain they did! Apparently, the wolves are a pack of shapeshifters designed to specifically protect their tribe from vampires. Well, I say designed. According to the legends, it's the magic in their blood that enables them to transform or phase, as they call it. They are not a threat to humans, unless that human is me obviuosly. Carlisle informed us that they have a treaty with the pack. The Cullen's could live here in Foks, but could not hunt on Quileute land. He thought that the reason we were attacked was because we crossed the treaty line. It makes sense, but if we knew there was a treaty line we would not have crossed it. Okay, you caught me, I probably would have either way but it was fine for me to cross it.

The wolf that...Sorry. The boy that was hurt, Jacob, was close to Bella. Not to mention, they could not take him to a hospital. One of the fall backs to being a giant shapeshifter was that they ran an extremely high fever all the time. For this reason, Carlisle and I are now on our way to the reservation. Why I decided that I should go with him is beyond me. Maybe it was curiousty or the fact that I owed these people an apology. Perhaps it was because I felt bad for harming something that was not a threat to humanity, either way I was in a car on my way to the house of the person I had severly injured.

I felt the car coming to a stop and brought myself back from outerspace. The house was small and red with a little white porch attached to the front. It brought a smile to my face and I chuckled when I noticed the huge boys standing around the outside. It made the place appear even smaller, but it also made it welcoming. I stepped out of the car and stood at Carlisle's side like I had been told to do before we left. The group tensed and turned to watch our approach slowly. I had wiped the sarcastic smile off of my face right before my eyes met the dark ones of the biggest guy standing out there. Carlisle and I both stopped when they came towards us, and without thinking I placed myself between the pack and the only vampire there. I said nothing. I simply watched them as closely as they were watching me. His eyes moved down my body and stopped on my injured side, which made his eyes widen beofre they crashed into mine again.

"You're human." he said and I smirked.

"More like super human, but yes." I crossed my arms and relaxed," I bleed, I have a heartbeat, I have to breathe, and I don't sparkle in then sunlight."

"But you hurt..."

"I think it would be best to talk about this after we save your buddy. Where and how hard I kicked him is dangerous. Especially if he's having problems breathing."

The one I thought to be the leader, or Alpha, nodded in agreement and let us pass. I looked up at Carlisle and smiled as we entered the house. A man in a wheelchair greeted us. He introdused himself as Billy Black, Jacob's father. The worry on his face was apparent and I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled as I walked by with Carlisle. His son's bedroom was small and so was the bed that he was lying on. I could have fit on it with no problem, but I could not figure out how he could lay in it comfortably on a normal day, much less when he was injured. His dark eyes fluttered open and he took a ragged breath as he watched Carlisle approach. I heard the wet, gurgling sound as he tried to breathe and it tore at my heart. The doctor was talking to him, reassuring him that he would be alright, and telling him what he was about to do.

"I've brought someone to help me, Jacob." he said as I stepped forward,"This is Linzie Dayton. I believe you've already meet."

I raised my eyes to meet his and gave him a small smile, but as our eyes met I felt something in me shift and snap into place. It was the oddest feeling I had ever experienced and I shook it off. Jacob, however, was staring at me in a mixture of awe and fear. I placed my small hand on his and smiled reassuringly. I was hoping that he understood that I was not going to harm him. Carlisle started the I.V. as we stared at each other. I heard him say that he was going to give him some morphine to help with the pain and that it would probably knock him out. As the drugs filtered through his body, his eyes drifted shut and we started to put him back together slowly. I could not have been more thankful for pain medication than I was in that moment.

Jacob's POV

My body felt stiff and heavy. I had to fight through the fog before I could open my eyes, but I could not keep the open long. It was entirely to bright. I tried again, but slowly this time. Thankfully, this worked much better than my first attempt. I glanced out of the window and noticed that the sun was high in the sky. I wondered how long I had slept and then tried too move, groaning in pain before sinking back into my pillows. That was a bad idea, but I could not remember why I was hurt. I heard footsteps moving quickly towards my room and faced the door as it opened.

"I thought I heard you." Sam said, stepping in and closing the door behind him, " How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful." I said bitterly. He nodded.

"The doc said your memory might be a little fuzzy because of the morphine. What do you remember?"

" The pack chasing down those two leeches that crossed the line and the female putting up a pretty good fight. After that, I remember a lot of pain." Sam sighed and I raised my head.

"I'll be right back."

I watched him walk out of my room in confusion. It was not long before I heaerd him and someone else approaching my door. I watched curiously as Sam walked in followed by a girl I did not know. My eyes met Sam's and he nodded towards her. I looked at her. Her long brown hair was the color of a dark, rich choclate that stopped in the middle of her back, her eyes were golden in the sunlight and reminded me of warm honey, her face was heartshaped and smooth holding a light tan. She was short and petite, but had femine curves. She could not have been much over five feet tall. She had on a black tank top, tight jeans, and was barefoot. There was a jagged scar from her left collar bone to the top of her right breast and a bandaged gash on her right side and my memory sparked to life. She crossed her arms and looked at me levelly as my eyes met hers. My body started to shake and I clamped my eyes shut in an attempt to calm down.

"I would calm down if I were you, Jacob." My eyes snapped open, and in my shock I stopped shaking,"If you phase right now you're not only going to destroy your room but the repairs Carlisle did last night also. Believe me when I say that you're far safer in a room with me than you will be if you screw up what was fixed."

"Who are you?" She moved from the door and took the seat beside my bed. She leaned on her knees with her elbows and never took her eyes off of me.

"My name is Linzie Dayton and I'm the one who did all of this too you," I felt a growl rumble in my chest, but she did not even blink,"and you're the one who did this to me." she said lifting her shirt and pulling the bandage off the almost completely healed gash on her side.

"That's great to know, but what are you doing here?" I did not want to admit that seeing what I did to her made my heart break.

"I came last night to help Carlisle fix what I broke, and I'm here now because there are a few things that you and your pack need to know about me and my brother."

"Like?"

The girl, Linzie I think it was, leaned back in the chair and smiled at me but said nothing. Despite the fact that her silence annoyed me, I felt my stomach flip when she smiled and found myself wanting to smile back. I mean, really, it was not every day that I had a beautiful girl in my room. Least of all one with a smile like that. I could look at that smile for the rest of my life. Whoa! My head snapped to Sam's, he saw the panic in my eyes, and he turned to Linzie. She was already standing by my door, her eyes trained on me.

"I'll give you two some privacy," she said smiling at Sam," I need to get back home and change anyway. We're meeting at midnight tonight, right?" Sam nodded, " Alright, I'll see you then. Get to feeling better, Jacob." With that and a final smile my way, she left.

"You alright, Jake?" he asked, "You looked at little paniced for a second there."

"I rememeber something else from last night." He nodded for me to continue, "Sam, I think...No...I know I imprinted last night."

Sam stared at me. It really did not help me calm down. I was already freaking out and I wished he would tell me I was mistaken. I could see him processing the information, narrowing down who I had seen last night. His eyes grew to comical proportions as he realized who I had imprinted on.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I just sat here staring at her and thinking about how I could look at her smile for the rest of my life. Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure."

"That doesn't prove you've imprinted," he said and I relaxed,"I mean she's beautiful. If I didn't have Emily I would probably..."

A growl ripped through me and I started to shake,"That does on the other hand." Sam said smiling, "Calm down, Jake. This isn't the end of the world."

"How do I stop it?" Sam looked shocked at the question.

"There isn't a way to stop it, Jacob, or fight it. If you try it could tear you apart."

"I belong with Bella, Sam. Not some girl I just met." Sam snorted.

"If you belonged with Bella Swan you would have imprinted on her and not Linzie."

The glare I sent his way obviously made him think twice about whatever he was going to say after that statement. He left after that, chuckling the entire way out of my house and into the woods. This was not good. How the hell could I ahve imprinted on a girl that I thought was a leech just last night? What about Bella? I mean, I still loved her. I was certain of it and I was not giving up on us just because some beautiful, golden eyed brunette walked into my life. I had a bad feeling about all of this, and it was because even though I am sitting here telling myself that I can fight the imprint... deep down I know it is a lie. And I know it because I can already feel the pull to this girl. So, the question is simple, how do I stay away from someone the pack is obviously about to get very friedly with? The answer. I have no fucking idea.


	5. Bad idea countdown

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight!

Author's Note: Let me just start by saying that I really need a Beta! With that said, if anyone is interested in doing this I would greatly appreciate it. Now on to chapter four. I know this one took me a little longer to post than the other chapters. I am truly sorry for that but it seems that my brain decided to go on strike and get confounded on the same thing. I don't want this to be a very fast paced story. Jacob and Linzie know nothing about each other, and I honestly think that Jake would be the one to fight an imprint for Bella. So, now that I have explained myself a bit, I hope you guys like how I do the relationship between Jake and Linzie. I'm open to ideas and questions. Please review! Thanks for reading my slight rant. Hope you enjoy! P.S. I'm going back to Linzie's POV.

Carson was angry. No, scratch that. Carson was _pissed_. Super, massively, irrevocably, irrationally pissed. Want to know why? Me. I was in a heap of trouble and I am talking give-me-a-shovel-so-I-can-dig-my-own-grave trouble. Have you ever snuck out in the middle of the night? You know, to go see a boyfriend or something and on the way back home you just knew that you are going to be caught sneaking back in. Well, in this case, I was the bad child and Carson was the hot-headed, overprotective father. He was quiet literally standing in our living room tapping his foot with his arms crossed and a glare to greet me at the door. I sighed and plopped, much like an insolent child, onto the loveseat.

"Where in the _hell_ were you?"

"I had a meeting that I couldn't get out of, Carson. What does it matter where I was?"

"Well, Linzie, it matters because I like to know where you are. You could have died! Did you ever think of that?" I rolled my eyes and stood facing my brother.

"Oh, for the love of God! I was meeting the pack, jackass. They wouldn't kill me. I'm human."

"Tell that to the scar on you side!"

"The only reason I have this fucking scar is because I smelled like you!"

That was a low blow. Carson's face went completely blank and I instantly felt bad. We stood in a tense silence for an eternity before he took off. I sighed and shut the door. Well, this was exactly what I wanted to come home too. A fight with my brother that sends him running off to only God knows where, and me left sitting here still madder than hell. Perfect. Please, note the sarcasm. I could not tell you how long I sat on the loveseat before I finally gave up and went to bed, but I can tell you that when I woke up the next afternoon he still was not back home. After an hour of mental arguments, I finally gave in and called the Cullen's. Well, I called Emmett's cell. The first ring had not even finished before he answered.

"Hey, Linzie!"

"Hey, Emmett," I said laughing, "Have you seen Carson today?"

"Yeah, late last night. Why? Is something wrong?" I sighed and poured some cereal into a bowl.

"We got into a fight when I got home last night. He hasn't been home since then. I'm worried about him"

"We'll go and look for him. Don't worry. I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Emmett. Tell everyone else I said thank you too."

"I will."

The line went dead. I chuckled at what my mother would have called a lack of manners and went back to eating my cereal. There was a ton of stuff for me to do today. I had to go back to the reservation to check on Jacob's injuries, then I had to go and meet with their counsel members, and that was followed by a pack meeting at Sam and his fiancée, Emily's, house. Why I was needed at the previously mentioned meeting was beyond me, but I told them that I would go. I was stuck. I was also tired, stressed, edgy, pissed off at my brother who was M.I.A, annoyed, concerned, frustrated with two of the Cullen's coven, and that was just for the moment. By the end of the day, there was no telling what I would be capable of doing. I rinsed the empty bowl out and placed it in the dishwasher. I had to get ready to go and I had a certain time to be at each place. When this is all over with, I am going to be praying that a nomad comes through tonight just so I can work of some steam.

It took an hour for me to get ready. I know. Predictable, right? I am a girl, you know. I pulled into the drive of the Black's house and all was quiet. I did not even hear the T.V. playing in the house. I shrugged it off, you will figure out that I am very good at that, and walked up the few steps to the door. I knocked and waited. No one answered. Now, I do not have bad manners but just this once I walked right into a house I had only been in a handful of times. I grabbed the box of supplies sitting on the counter and knocked on the door to Jacob's small bedroom. No answer. Annoyed beyond belief, I walked straight through the door with out any other form of warning. This was my first bad idea of the day.

Jacob was there and he was obviously feeling a little better. I say this because as I stood there, staring like an idiot might I add, the guy in question was staring right back. A pair of plain cut off denim shorts in his hand and nothing on his amazing body. My eyes roamed without my consent from his shocked expression to his broad shoulders and strong arms followed by his rock hard chest and a set of abs that should be illegal for any man to have. My brain registered exactly what I was doing just before my eyes went any lower than the defined V-shape at his hips. I turned and ran out of his room, slamming the door shut on my way out. As I passed the kitchen I set the box back on the counter and sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. I slapped myself in the forehead after that. What the hell was I thinking? I should have waited for him to answer me. I heard a throat clear and turned to face the object of my embarrassment.

"Uh, hey."

"I, um," I cleared my throat and met his eyes, "I'm really sorry about that, Jacob. I shouldn't have barged in your room like that. It's just that...I got worried when you didn't answer."

He graced me, for the first time, with a small smile before he nodded, "I get it. It's fine. I actually thought you were my dad."

"Yeah, I have the wrong anatomy to play that role." He laughed," So, how about you let me check you over and then I can get out of your hair?"

"Sure, sure."

I shook my head and followed him to the couch with my box. Yes, my box. I am the only one that uses the damn thing. He placed his arm across the top of the couch and turned so I could get a better look. The bruising was basically gone. There were still a few yellow spots here and there, but it looked fine. I ran my fingertips down his ribs and pushed on each one that I was responsible for breaking. He did not even flinch.

"Any pain?"

"No, not since early this morning." I nodded.

"Stiffness?"

"Nope."

"Shortness of breath?"

"Thankfully, no."

"Okay," I said smiling," Come with me."

He gave me a curious look but followed anyway. I led him into the edge of the forest and turned to face him. He was still staring at me curiously and something told me that he was not going to like what Carlisle wanted him to do right this second. I looked around then waved for him to follow me a bit further. I finally stopped, took a deep breath, and faced him again.

"Alright, here's the deal," I said watching his face for a reaction, "I need you to phase." His eyes bulged out of his head.

"No." I glared.

"Look, Carlisle can't come on your land. I can. The only way I'm going to know if you can go back to doing your job is if you phase."

"I'll stick around home for a few more days."

"This isn't about you sticking around home, wolf boy! The Cullen's are worried about something! Your pack is worried about something! You need to phase."

"No." I growled.

"Jacob, don't force me to make you phase."

He laughed, "Not possible."

I hit him and he started to shake. In case no one is keeping count, this is my second bad idea of the day. I started to back up...slowly. Within about three seconds, a rip and a growl filled the air. I was now face to face with the large russet colored wolf I had been the prey of a few nights ago. He was huge! Jacob was big but...Oh, get your minds out of the gutter. His wolf form was bigger. He was at least seven feet tall, strong and fierce looking. The only thing that reminded me that this was not some blood crazed werewolf was his eyes. Do not get me wrong, he was angry but there was worry there too. I smiled and rummaged through the bag on my back.

"See," I tossed him the shorts that Sam had given me last night, "was that really so hard?"

He glared and walked a bit further into the forest. I was not even aware that animals could glare, but this one did. Luckily, there was not some sickening popping sound I could hear. I think I might have thrown up if there was. I walked back to the house and sat on the porch. The day was actually beautiful. The sun was out and the sky was blue. I could feel the heat pouring onto me as I watched a seagull in the distance. La Push was beautiful in the sun. It was beautiful in the normal gloom of clouds and rain too. I could hear Jacob coming towards me now. His footsteps were a bit harsher than normal. Great, I pissed someone else off.

"What the hell was that about? Do you realize that I could have seriously hurt you with you being that close to me when I phased?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then why fucking do it?"

"I had to be sure you could phase without re-breaking anything!" I stood up then, "I gave you a chance to walk off into the woods and phase, but no! You had to be damn stubborn."

We stood there glaring at each other for a few minutes before I sighed and sat back down. My head fell into my hands and I just sat there. I just could not keep calm today. Hell, I still had to go meet there counsel members in a few hours and here I was pissing everyone off I came into contact with. This should be an interesting day. I ran my hand through my hair and looked up at Jacob.

"I'm sorry." I said, scooting over and patting the open space beside me, "Sam told me last night that you guys needed to be up to full strength and the only way that would happen is if you could phase." He sat down beside me and his glare lessened.

"Fine, but did you really have to try and break my jaw?"

"Dude, trust me. If I had been trying to break your jaw, it would be broken right now."

"Dude?" He questioned. I could hear the humor in his voice and I laughed, punching his arm playfully in the process.

"Don't make fun of how I talk, pup, or I might just have to kick your ass."

"Not possible."

"Are we really going to have to go through this again, Jake?" He stared at me stunned, "What?

"You just called me Jake."

"Oh, uh, sorry." I said. I seem to be apologizing a lot here lately, "I just thought you might be more comfortable if I called you that. Everyone else does. I feel so formal calling you Jacob all the time, but if you would prefer I will."

"No, it's fine." I smiled at him, "So, are you going to fill me in on what happened at the meeting last night?"

"Oh, right. Well, do you want the long version or the short version?"

"That depends. Which one will give me less of a headache?"

"The short version."

"Short version it is, then."

I sat there trying to get my thoughts together. Explaining yourself gets a little boring after doing it so many times in a couple of days. Luckily, Jake only wanted the short version. Sadly, even the short version is kind of long. I am the type that likes to cut stuff down to the bare minimum, so I could probably make it a crap ton shorter than what it actually is.

"Do you know what a Slayer is?" He raised his eyebrow.

"You mean like Buffy?" I laughed.

"Yeah, kinda." He looked at me like I was unhinged then, "I don't run around in graveyards waving pointy sticks, Holy Water, and garlic. You and I both know that shit doesn't work."

"Are you trying to tell me that you're a real life Buffy?"

"Please don't let Embry hear you say that, but yes."

"Embry?"

"Yeah. My name is no longer Linzie in his eyes. It's Buffy."

"Right. Go on."

I explained everything to him, just in a shorter version than everyone else. He asked far more questions than anyone else did. Like, how were your parents? Has your brother bitten a human? Does he drink human blood? How did you know how kill them at thirteen? I answered them all to the best of my ability. He took my hand a gave it a squeeze before dropping it and standing. I turned to the woods at about the same time he did. Embry, Quil, and Seth were making their way towards us. Seth was waving excitedly, but the other two were grinning wickedly.

"Hey, Buff." Embry said draping his arm over my shoulder, "Hey, Jake."

"Hey." We both said.

"Sam needs to see you both. We volunteered to come with Seth to get you. Can't let him roam around alone."

"I think he could have succeeded in coming to get us by himself." I said, smiling at the youngest pack member.

"Aw, does the leech killer have a soft spot for the baby wolf?"

"He's definitely less annoying to be around." I said, "Come on, Seth."

We were barely past the edge of the forest when the three boys, in wolf form now, tore past us. I rolled my eyes and Seth laughed and shrugged at me. I knew he was probably itching to join his brothers and encouraged him to do so. He simply smiled and shook his head in the negative. The forest was gorgeous. Sometimes the green color of it was a bit overwhelming, but it fit this place somehow. When the moon was out at night, it made the water on the leaves sparkle and glow. The sun just made it even greener than it was to begin with.

"Did you tell Jake about everything?" Seth asked me.

"Yeah. I thought it would only be fair."

"You're really good with weird. Did you know that?" I laughed.

"Yes, I did." I smiled, "From what I hear, I'm not the only one that's good with weird. I mean, look at Bella Swan."

"That was a surprise. Humans normally freak out."

"You're human, Seth. Trust me. I've seen nonhuman. You, Jake, and the pack are just as human as me and Bella are."

"Since when are you human?"

I chased him the rest of the way, laughing and tripping him. Well, when tripping him was possible. I did not use my super speed very often in normal situations. This classifies as normal. Sam and the other's were waiting outside as we ran through the tree line. Embry and Quil laughed, the other boys smiled, but the female looked as if she could kill me. In my opinion she nearly did when she grabbed my arm mid-sprint. I was stopped with such force that my neck popped and I glared at the woman before me. "Leah." I heard Sam say. She looked even more furious as she let go of my arm.

"No. Let her go, Sam." I said crossing my arms, "If the resident bitch has something to say, let her say it."

"Leave my brother alone, Slayer. You got your brother killed. You leave mine out of it."

Bad idea number three...I punched her. Hard. She phased. Which leads me to bad idea number four. I attacked her.


	6. The fight and a Cold

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight.

Author's Note: Let me begin by saying THANK YOU to all those who have reviewed. I really appreciated hearing from you guys. Keep'em coming! So this is chapter five. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I had fun writing it. I like to have a sort of interactive story. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Now, on to chapter five!

It was a good thing that I picked a fight with one of the least experienced members of the pack. Otherwise, I probably would have been seriously injured. After my initial attack, the fight really got underway. Leah pounced and landed right on top of me. She kept me pinned for a few seconds, but as she made a move towards my throat I freed my arms. This resulted in us killing a very large tree at the tree line. Kicking, scratching, yelping, growling, and punching was all that was seen or heard. And I sure as hell used my speed and strength this time. We circled each other, I was smirking and she was glaring. Both of us were calculating our next moves and we both attacked at the same time. I had the upper hand. I had more experience but she was huge. Thankfully how she attacked allowed me to use her momentum against her. I threw to the ground and pinned her. My fists went flying and her teeth snapped for my arms which caused me to get off of her. She attacked again and I grapped her upper and lower jaw and started to pull them apart as she tried to snap. I heard the whining and pain filled yelps, but I did not stop.

The other pack members apparently decided that this was a good time to separate us. I felt three pairs of hands grab me from behind and pull. It could not have been easy to disengage me, either. I was still fighting when they pulled me away, and Leah was too. She was just being forced into the woods by four other wolves. I was yelling, cursing, and crying in anger and a little pain. I had a few scratches here and there. Some were deeper than others, but nothing fatal.

"Damn it, Linzie! Stop fighting!" I heard some one yell at my ear. I finally settled down and felt the three guys release me. They came to stand in front of me and Embry tore a piece of the old shirt I was wearing and held it to my face.

"Thanks." I said, flinching slightly. He nodded.

"Come on. Emily will have something to get you cleaned up with."

The tears were still running freely down my face as I entered the house and Emily rushed forward. There was a first aid kit in her hand and she pushed me onto the kitchen chair. I could hear the boys telling her what happened and her angry sigh. I just closed my eyes when she placed a cool wet rag to my cheek and began to clean the blood off my face. Embry was helping her by cleaning my arms. Nothing was said for a while. I did not know what had gotten into me. I really should not have attacked the female wolf. Then again, she did not have the right to say something like that too me. None of them knew what had happened to my parents. None of them knew how Carson was turned, but I sure as hell did not offer him up on a platter and ask them to do that to him. Someone asked me a question and I blinked the memories away as I looked up.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Would you like something to change into?" Emily asked me.

"Oh, um," I pulled my hair up and cringed. That was a bruised rib. "No, thank you. I think I've caused enough trouble for today. I'm just going to leave."

I could hear them calling me back but I ignored them. I did not go through the forest this time. Jake and the other's were still trying to calm Leah down. Instead, I walked down the beach. It was a little out of the way, but it would keep another fight from breaking out. I let the memories of that night wash through my mind as I walked. Finding my parents, their bodies mutilated to the point that I did not recognize them. My brother laying on the floor, moaning in pain and calling for my parents. He was calling for me, as well. All the blood, the pain, the sickening sweet smell that was all over our house. Even the realization that my older brother was about to become the one thing I now hated above all other's. My knees gave out and I cried for everything I had lost. I cried for my parents, for my brother, for what I had become. I screamed. The pain I had been ignoring was coming out all at once. I could not breath. I sunk into the sand and brought my knees to my chest.

I did not have a clue how long I sat there like that. It must have been hours. The sky was dark now and the wind was cold. Rain was falling from the sky and lightening was striking. I stood and stared out across the angry water for a while before I turned and started to walk down the beach again. I finally reached the part of the beach I knew to be right down from the Black's house. The rain had finally stopped and I approached the trail that lead up to the house.

"Linzie?" I turned towards the voice, "Oh, thank God!" It was Jacob.

"Hey." I croaked out and then cleared my throat.

"We've been looking everywhere for you."

"I'm right here, Jacob."

My voice sounded dead. Jake stared at me and then shook his head. I had lost feeling in my hands, nose and feet a long time ago. It would not surprise me if my lips were blue. At that thought, I realized that my teeth were chattering and I was shivering. I also felt like complete shit.

"You must be freezing." He said, placing his hand on my cheek. His eyes grew wide again. "You're burning up."

"T...Tell that to m...my chattering t..teeth."

He scooped me up and took off towards his house. I really did not know what to think about this entire situation. A) I did not know this guy carrying me really well. B) I had just attacked and beat the crap out of one of his pack members. C) I was a shivering, stuttering, sand covered mess. On top of all of this, I apparently had a very high fever. Jacob could tell if that was any indication. He does run at a temperature of 108 after all.

"Dad!"

I looked around. I had not even realized that we had made it to his house. I knew he was talking to his father, but I was sleepy. Very sleepy. My body healed extremely quickly, but I did not know how it would fair against hypothermia. I heard something about Dr. Cullen, a hospital, and my brother before my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later in an unfamiliar room. Well, not completely unfamiliar but I certainly was not use to sleeping in it. I looked towards the door and noticed that it was open with a heater placed in it. Ah, that was why I was so dang hot. I pushed the hair out of my face and looked down at my body. Found the other reason. There had to have been at least six blankets piled on top of me. I rolled my eyes and pushed them off my body, swinging my legs off the bed in the process. No sooner had me feet touched the ground, I heard rushed footsteps nearing the door. Jacob stopped behind the heater and sighed.

"Hi."

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked, stepping over the small heater and taking a seat in the chair by the bed.

"Fine. A little hot but otherwise fine."

"We called Dr. Fang. He said you had caught a severe cold. Gave us orders to keep you in bed until your fever broke."

"Oh, wow. I had a fever?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound surprised?"

"I haven't even had a runny nose since I was thirteen. Kinda weird that I caught a cold." He gave me a look that was obviously confused. "Slayer gene. I heal quickly, so even if I get a virus it's been done away with before I can even tell."

"Ah, Got ya. We're the same way." He ran a hand through his hair, "Dr. Cullen said to tell you that they found your brother and that he was waiting for you to get home."

"Good. The asshole ran off the other day after a fight we had. What time is it?"

"Around noon. If you want I can drive you home. The leech seemed to think it was a good idea."

I nodded and put my shoes on signaling that I was ready to leave. We got into my car, which was amusing to watch to say the least. I have a very small car. It is a dark green cougar. I do not know if you've ever seen one, but my brother has problems fitting into it comfortably. Therefore, you can imagine Jake trying to fit his almost seven foot frame into the small vehicle. We drove in silence for a while but he kept looking at me curiously.

"Can I help you with something, Jake?"

"Sorry," He smiled sheepishly my way, "I was just wanting you to know that there are no hard feelings between the pack and you."

"Huh?"

"The fight. You kicking Leah's ass."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. The entire pack has wanted to do that for a while now." I laughed.

"She put up a decent fight."

"She did, but she had no right saying what she did. Sam had a few choice words for her."

I smiled and looked out the window. As we pulled up to my house, Carson opened the door and stepped out. He was shifting his weight from foot to foot as I stepped out of the car. I just looked at him. The last time I had seen him, I said something really unfair. He smiled and I gave him a small one back. He raised his eyebrow and I nodded. It was his silent way of asking if I was alright. I looked back at Jacob and smiled.

"How about you come in and I make you lunch?"

"No, thanks. I have to get back to Sam's. There is a pack meeting and then I have to patrol."

"Alright, but the invitation is always open."

I walked in the house and talked to Carson for a few minutes. He had been worried when Carlisle told him that I had gotten sick. That was Carson, though. He always worried without cause too. It was one of the things I loved about him. The Cullen's asked for us to make an appearance at their place tomorrow night. Apparently, Bella's graduation party was tomorrow and we had been invited. I nodded and then Carson ordered me to bed. Even though I would be eighteen in about two months, my lovely brother still thought it was his place to be my parent. Sadly, that will probably never change.


	7. That's what you've been worried about?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight.

Author's Note: I know this one took a bit longer than the other ones to write. I had to decide how I was gong to write this chapter and what all I was going to put in it. I can tell you that after this chapter there will be a lot more Jacob than what you guys have been seeing in the others. I've decided that the next chapter will be wholly in Jacob's point of view. I like to know what other characters are thinking in the stories I read, and seeing as Jake is a big part of this story I'll be sneaking his POV in at random intervals. I hope you guys don't mind. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I love to hear from you. Keep them coming!

"Ugh! I have really got to go shopping."

"Yeah, because you need another seven million outfits."

I laughed and discarded the twelth outfit I had picked out. Carson had been listening to me complain about my lack of clothes for a good hour now. Somtimes I really hated how guys could basically just throw something on and look good. It drove me nuts. I pulled on the outfit I had just grabbed and turned to Carson. He signalled me to turn. I did. He smiled. I was not sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I like it. Are those the shoes mom threw such a fit over?"

I looked down and rolled my eyes before I nodded in his direction. This was a shopping trip that my mother and I argued. This was the cause. I lived close to a big city and as such I had a fake ID. This was part of my club clothes. I had grabbed my dark green halter, a pleated black skirt that stopped about four or five inches above my knees, and knee high leather, high heeled boots. I walked out of my room and into the bathroom to finish my make-up.

"It's a good thing that I am a vampire."

"What makes you say that?"

"I would have to be supernatuaral to keep the boys off of you. I don't think a baseball bat would do it."

"Aw! How sweet." I kissed his cheek, "Take a look in the mirror. Looks like we'll both be kicking peoples asses tonight." He laughed and I ran my hand through my curled hair.

"Are you ready, Linz?"

I nodded and he lead me out to the truck, holding the door open for me to get in. He cranked it and a Bullet for My Valentine song blared out into the night before he turned it down. The drive to the Cullen's house was nice, but fast. Vampires apparently can not drive under one hundred no matter where they are going. We pulled up, Carson shut the truck off, and was opening my door before I realized that we were there. I looked around as we walked towards the front door. White Christmas lights were tastefully put onto the trees that lined the drive way and white silk bows where placed on every other tree as well. From the outside, it looked more like we were going to a wedding instead of a graduation party. I could feel and hear the music coming from the house. The song was one I knew but could not remember the name of. At least it had a good beat. The inside of the house was beautiful, but it was on it's own. From the expensive decorations and how beautifully it was put together, I could only assume that Alice had put this together. The house was packed with people I did not know, with the exception of the Cullen's and a few of the wolf pack. Emmett made a bee line for me and spun me around as he picked me up. It was hilarious how much he reminded me of Carson.

"We're glad you could make it."

"Us too. Sorry we were late. I had a clothing disaster."

"That's the understatment of the century." Carson said laughing.

We made small talk for a few minutes, but soon after a song played that I loved and I excused myself to dance. I could feel eyes on me as I moved to the beat, and I looked up. My gaze clashed with the dark, beautiful eyes of Jacob Black. Embry was trying to talk to him but it seemed that Jake did not know it. His gaze follwed Jake's and they followed me too. I smiled at them coyly and Jake moved towards me. My body tingled in anticipation as he came closer and my heart thumped irraticaly in my chest. I turned my back to him when he reached for me, and when his large, warm hands found my hips I felt an electric shock. The air around us sizzled as we moved together. He followed my lead expertly. There was not a move that I did that he did not copy. When I moved, he moved. I could feel his hot breath wash over my neck and I tilted my head back onto his chest. I was vaguely aware that we had attracted an audience, but I could have cared less at that point.

The up beat tempo changed to a rather old ballad and everyone around us slowed down. Jacob spun me around and I placed my small hands on his shoulders. His gaze was intense and confused, but it made heat curl in my stomach. His head was slowly moving towards mine and my eyes flicked to his mouth and back up. Centimeters seperated us now and I could smell faint traces of beer on his breath. He touched my lips with his tenderly and pulled back. There was a question in his eyes and I smiled before I pulled his mouth back towards mine. He kissed me fiercely and without abandon this time, and I did the same. The world around us melted and I was overly aware of how close his body was to mine as he pulled me too him roughly. The moment was short lived however. He pulled back and I looked at him through hooded eyes. I could see the fear that he tried to hide in his eyes. I opened my mouth to ask if he was alright, but Embry appeared at his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Jacob took a step back and turned to follow his friends. He turned to look at me once more before he disappeared.

I did not have time to dwell on his abrupt deparature or the fear he held in his eyes. Carson found me and informed me that something was indeed going on with the Cullen's and the wolf pack, and that if we wanted to know what was going on I needed to follow him. We moved through the crowd quickly and made our way upstairs to Carlisle's office. I could still feel the music coming from the livingroom as we shut the door behind us to muffle the sound. The Cullen's were on one side of the room, and Jake and his friends stood on the other.

"Hold up. What damn army?" Jake snapped. I arched my eyebrow and listened to the explaination given.

So...the red head that the wolves had been chasing was the same one that the Cullen's had been waiting for. At least that was what i concluded. They all talked as if we were not there, but I knew they did not miss us slip in. These people were werewolves and vampires, for fuck sake. Bella stepped up and started an arguement about whether or not the wolves were going to be involved. I rolled my eyes dramatically. This was getting them no where.

"How many are you expecting?" All eyes turned to my brother and I.

"We aren't sure."

"Well, then I don't see how the wolves helping is a bad idea. Your coven is strong, but an army full of newborn's isn't something you want to fight alone. With their help, you'll have the element of surprise."

"But they'll get hurt." Bella said in a panic. She was becoming hysterical.

"I hate to break it to you, Bella, but if they don't help you your precious vampires will be killed with little to no problem. I've seen this sort of thing before. It never ends well."

"What the hell could you possibly know about an army of newborns?" My eyes narrowed and I yanked my halter over my head. Thankfully, I had worn a strapless bra.

"This is what I know, Swan." I turned my back to them and showed them the scars that had been left from the small army of newborns that had been made around Nashville, "I also have x-rays of all the broken bones that I received. I nearly lost my life. What's funny is this army was built for a human girl just like the one you all are about to face. You really need the extra fucking help. My bones have been reset, my scars have healed, but once a vampire is ripped apart and burned there is nothing you can do about it."

"Jasper has the training that we'll need to fight them." Carlisle said, "Jacob, if Sam would agree to it you all can join us." Jacob nodded and left with Embry and Quil.

"We're fighting too," I held up my hand when Emmett went to spreak, " With the exception of Jasper, I'm the only other person that has fought a large number of newborns. Unlike Jacob Black, none of you hold any power over my decision making. I'm fighting, and that's the end of it."

"With you and Jasper training us, those newborns don't stand a chance!" Emmett said excitedly. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"What about Bella?" I turned to Edward.

"If I were you, I would get her out of the state. She is what this Victoria tick wants."

"I'm not leaving."

"Fine. Whatever," I crossed my arms over my chest, "but staying here won't help. It will get you killed."

"I'm not running away while everyone I care about is fighting for my life."

"I don't know if I find that brave or utterly stupid."

"Look, just becase your..."

"I'm not gonna fight with you over this, Bella. It's not my life that's at stake. If you want to stay and get yourself, and the people you supposedly care about killed in the process, then be my guest." I turned to Carlisle and Jasper, " We need to train them and we need to do it soon. Alice, How long before the fleet of ticks over run us?"

"Four days. A week at the most."

"Tonight at midnight would be the perfect time to start."

"We'll use the clearing. It's neutral ground and that's where the fight will take place." I nodded.

"Carson, stay here and talk strategy. I'm going to the reservation to talk to Sam and the others." 


	8. And so it begins

Author's Note: So, this took a while. I'm sorry about that. I got a case of writer's block and I could not shake it. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writting it. The next couple of chapter's will be in Linzie's POV. The fight with Victoria and her newborns is just around the corner. I'll update again as soon as I can. As always, Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight, the plot, or the character's of the Twilight Saga. Anything that you do not recognize is mine. No infringment intended, nor do I make any money off writting these. It's purely for fun.

Jacob's POV

We left the Cullen's. Quil and Embry did not speak on the way to Sam's, which was fine by me. I had more than enough to think about. I am not just talking about the newborn army that was heading our way either. This whole thing with Linzie was throwing me for one hell of a loop. I had decided to keep my distance, which is hard when she is around. This pull between us was insane. If she was close all sense left me and I seemed to forget that I was trying to stay away from her. Now, I had royally screwed up. I kissed her. I freakin' kissed her! What was I thinking?

I shook my head slightly to rid my mind of those thoughts as we neared Sam's house. It was late and the moon was high. The house was dark for a few seconds before the porch light flicked on and Sam was standing on the porch. I sighed as we followed him inside. Emily was standing in the kitchen, a fluffy, pink robe tied tightly around her slender waist and a worried look painted on her features. We all sat around the table and stared at one another.

"So, who would like to tell me why all of you are here?"

"We were at the Cullen's house."

"Yes, I know that. Bella's graduation party, right?" I nodded.

"Alice had a vision while we were there. An army is coming, Sam."

"An army?"

"Yeah. An army of newborn leeches and they are coming for Bella."

Sam sat back heavily in his chair and stared at nothing for what seemed like an eternity. I could see his brain thinking up strategy's and dismissing them within seconds. He sighed, ran his hand across his face and then looked back up at me. He nodded at Quil, who stood abruptly and left. I heard a howl sound and knew that he had called the other's. They had been patrolling for hours keeping an eye out for the Victoria leech. Within minutes the house was packed and everyone was discussing what we were going to do about it.

"Dr. Cullen said one of his coven had the knowledge to help us undertstand what we are fighting. I think it would be best if we went to train with them."

"And give away how each of us defend ourselves? That's insane!"

"It's the best option we have."

"Not exactly."

Every set of eyes in the house turned towards the door. Linzie stood there, looking even more beautiful than she did half an hour ago. Her hair was wind blown and the revealing clothes she had on held parts of the forrest. Sam nodded towards her and she came into the house. She stopped feet away from everyone and looked around. From the small smile she flashed us, anyone could tell that she knew some of the pack was really worried about the upcoming fight.

"I have fought newborns before, a rather large group of them actually."

"Way to go, Buffy!" She laughed at Embry and rolled her eyes.

"I was seriously hurt. Newborns are nothing to play around with on their own, but a large group of them is worse."

"So, you could train us?"

"Yes, but I think that going to the clearing and training with the Cullen's is a good idea too. I can work with you daily, but Jasper knows a bit more about them than I do. It wouldn't hurt to learn what he knows."

"Very well."

"Great!" Linzie said smiling, "First training session is in about twenty minutes. You guys ready?"

"As we'll ever be."

_Clearing_

"Never go for the obvious kill!"

I growled in frustration and attacked the biggest Cullen for the hundredth time. We had been at this for over an hour and we were getting our asses kicked. Luckily, we weren't the only ones. The pack and the Cullens, with the exception of Jasper, were trading ass beatings. I could see anger brewing in Linzie and Carson's eyes at the way we were fighting. They were speaking rapidly in hushed voices and that one moment of distraction allowed the big leech to get one over on me. He slammed into my side and I yelped as my other side met the ground.

"Alright, that's enough!"

I heard people walking towards me and felt them kneel. I was too busy praying that my bones had not been re-broken. Small, soft, warm hands were placed in my fur and gently felt aound my ribs. I sighed at the touch and closed my eyes. I did not know if it was Linzie or Bella who was examining me, well I did, but I did not want to admit that I was glad it was her. She reached up and scratched behind my ear breifly before she whispered that I was fine. I stood and walked towards the pack. Our attention was called to the center of the clearing and Linzie stood there. Her face was flushed in a mixture of anger and relief.

"Ya'll are going to die. If you fight the newborns like you just fought the Cullen's, Bella is royally screwed."

Carson snorted, "You might as well just had her over now and save yourselves the trouble."

A snarl ripped through the air and we all turned to face Edward. Linzie had placed herself between her brother and Cullen and a small smile graced her face. He attacked and then I lunged at him. Yet again, sense leaves me where Linzie is concerned. He threw me off and went for her again, which only served to enrage me more. I grabbed his stone arm in my teeth and yanked him backwards and away from my imprint. I heard the other's yelling at the both of us, but no one dared try and stop us. He would punch, I would lunge, we would both get hits, and finally someone got brave enough to stop us. Linzie, the person I was trying to defend, walks right into the middle of it. I saw her draw her fist back and let loose. The sound it made when it came into contact with Edwards face was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. He flew through the air and hit a tree. Bella ran to him. I rolled my eyes and then Linzie rounded on me. She got right in my face and glared into my eyes.

"I appreciate what you just did, Jake, but I can take care of myself."

I yipped at her to tell her I understood.

"You can't do that in the fight with the newborns. If anything distracts you, it will get you killed."

I yipped again. Her eyes stared into mine and I could see the worry for my well being hidden in the depths. My heart clenched and she turned away, her anger was back. She stormed towards Cullen, pointed her finger in his face, and yelled about his stupidity for all the world to hear. If I were actually human at the moment, everyone would have seen the soft, proud smile that flickered across my face. As my luck would have it, everyone did not know but the pack did. I heard Embry snickering in my head and turned to glare at him as Sam approached my side.

_'You know you need to tell her.'_

_'There's nothing to tell, Sam."_

His dark eyes met mine and I knew that the jig was up. He could hear what I thought and what I felt. _'You know as well as I do that you have fallen for that girl. Tell her. None of us know if we will make it out of this fight alive.'_

I sighed and looked at my imprint. I knew I should tell her, but if I told her and then something happened to me...I could not think of how that would affect her. She had already lost so much. I did not want to be someone who caused her that kind of pain. Then, I turned to Bella. I still loved her feircely, but I could feel that love changing. It scared me. The Cullens, Linzie, and Carson all dismissed us. Carson followed the Cullens back towards their home and Linzie followed us. I could feel her beside me as we walked and I stopped. She turned away from me. She obviously knew what I was about to do. I walked a little ways off and phased before I pulled on the cut offs attached to my leg. She smiled at me as we began to walk again. The girl amazed me, sometimes.

"Alright there, Jake?"

"Sure, Sure." She raised an eyebrow at me, but left it be.

"You guys did great out there. The pack still needs a little work, but I think ya'll will be okay."

"I hope so."

"Jasper knows what he's talking about. With both of us teaching you, there is no way that you guys can lose."

She placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. My hear skipped a beat. Damn. Linzie walked ahead of me to talk to Sam and I watched her. They were all still in their wolf form, but she somehow understood what they meant when they responded. The entire pack loved her, well, Leah grudgingly respected her but still. They had kept their guard up around Bella, but with Linzie it was different. They were comfortable. Right then I made a decision. I would tell her, but only after I was sure I was ready and after the fight with the newborns.


	9. You had better run

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight.

Author's Note: Thanks to all those who have reviewed! They make me super happy. This chapter will be in Linzie's POV and so will the next, but I promised more Jacob and more Jacob you shall have! Enjoy!

"Okay, alright, stop!"

They were frustrating me beyond belief. We had less than a day before the newborns would be arriving, and they still were not listening. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes breifly. Cracking my neck, I walked into the middle of the group of wolves and stared at each one separatly. They knew I was getting angry, but it was not at them. Well, it was but it wasn't. Their greatest strength was in their group attack. I undersand that fully, but they are going to be separated.

"You guy's can not get distracted by each other. How many times must I tell you this? It will get you killed. Don't you get that?" I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "That's it for today. Four o'clock tomorrow at the clearing. We'll work on this a bit more, but we're running out of time. The fight is tomorrow afternoon. Get your heads together."

The wolves separated and went their own way, all but two. I looked up and rolled my eyes as Jake and Sam approached me. This was going to frustrating. I just knew it.

"Yes?"

"It's against their instinct to allow one of the other's to be hurt."

"I know," I sighed, "but you will be separated tomorrow and the slightest distraction can get one of you killed. Jake will be with me guarding Bella at one side of the clearing and the rest of you will be in the middle fighting to protect not just her but us as well. We will all watch each other's backs but you have to focus on what you're doing separately as well. It's not just your packs lives on the line here."

"I'll speak with them. Thank you for helping us. It has been a huge help."

"Your welcome. Now, go home and spend some time with Emily. Reassure her as best you can. I'll see you tomorrow." Sam took off towards his house, which left Jake and I alone in the clearing.

"Did you know you have a horrible temper?" My head snapped up and I glared.

"Did you know that you're one step away from getting your ass kicked?" He laughed.

"Oh, really now?"

"Yep! I was getting onto everyone else for their distraction, but you're the worst. What will it take to convince you that I can take care of myself?"

"No clue."

I growled and started to walk towards my house. I loved the boy, but...damn. Double damn. I did not just think that. The urge to bang my head into the nearest tree was becoming stronger by the minute. At least I did not say it out loud. This was bad, very bad. I did not come here for a relationship and love...Damn. A relationship? Me? In a relationship? That was hiliarious to even contemplate. I had no idea when this happened nor that it was possible to fall in love with someone in a little more than a week. What was I gonna do now? I looked up at Jake and sighed. This was going to be interesting.

"Not that I mind, but why are you following me?"

"I'm hungry."

"Okay?" I looked at him confused and he smiled.

"You offered to fix me lunch one day and I was busy. You said the invatation was open."

"Ah. Got ya."

We walked in silence until we reached my house. Carson was standing at the door. I smiled at him. He shook his head, smiled and retreated back into the house. The wolf pack and my borther got along well. Sometimes it was like Carson was no longer a vampire, but a normal human. It probably had something to do with the fact that he acted like a human.

"You always did have a soft spot for strays." Carson said. I laughed.

"It's not my fault they follow me home. I'm just that lovable."

"I am standing here."

"Oh, hey, Jake. I didn't see you there."

I laughed at my brother and pulled out some hamburger meat. I had no clue why, but cheeseburgers sounded delicious. Jake and Carson talked while I cooked, all of us laughing. Those two acted like brothers instead of enemies. I cooked the entire five ounds of meat and laid it on the table along with the condoments. I was lucky to get the two I got. Jake was like the human version of a vaccum.

I ran the dish water and started to place the dirty dishes in the sink, only to be pushed out of the way. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a towel, taking the clean dishes from Jake's hands to dry and put away. It had been forever since I had had help washing the dishes and even longer since I had someone to cook for. When I was younger, my mother and I would cook every night. I loved it.

"Thanks for dinner, Linz."

"You're more than welcome, wolf-boy. Next time remind me to get more hamburger meat and fries, though."

He laughed, "I guess cooking for someone with my appetite is a bit frustrating."

"You could say that. Even when Carson was human he didn't eat that much. I wasn't even aware that human vaccum's were available."

He laughed and handed me the last dish, which I dryed. Sadly, I was really short and could not reach where it went.

"Here, let me do that."

Jake took the pan from my hands and sat it above my head. His body was close enough to me that I could feel the heat radiating off of his body. My heat sped up and I turned to face him. I looked into his eyes and my breath caught in my throat. Everything he was feeling was put before me for my obsevation. I could see his nervousness, his excitement, and his desire, but there was something else there too. Before i had the chance to riddle out what the emotion was, his lips crashed onto mine and I moaned. There was nothing like kissing this boy. His hands grabbed my thighs and placed me onto the counter, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. My head was spinning, and I did not know if it was from lack of oxygen of something else but I could not find it in me to care. A growl vibrated through his chest when I nibbled his lower lip, and another moan ripped through me.

"Hey, Linz! I'm going to..."

We pulled ourselves apart quickly and I slid off of the counter. Sadly, it was not quick enough. My brother was standing in the doorway, his face frozen in shock. I glanced at Jake and noticed the blush that had made it's way to his cheeks and a smirk crossed my face. I knew I looked the same, but seeing a big, bad werewolf blush ver getting caught kissing someone was hilarious.

"What did you need, Carson?"

My brother cleared his throat and looked at me, amusement obvious on his face, "I'm going to go hunt with Emmet and Rose. I'll be back in a few hours. Do you think you can stay out of trouble till then?

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I think I'm gonna leave, too." Jake said.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Jake."

"See ya, wolf-boy."

After Jake disappeared, Carson dissolved into laughter. I picked up the nearest pan I could find, which was cast iron, and hurled it at his head. Sadly, it hit where his head would have been if he would not have ran.


	10. I knew better

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for all of the reviews! I really appreciate it. So, this is chapter 9. Which means that we have now reached the battle at the clearing. It's taken me a bit to figure out how to write this and what exactly I wanted to happen to my own characters, and maybe a few of the originals. I hope you all enjoy it. Please remember to review! Thanks!

The skies were clear, the pink's and gold's of the sunrise stretching languidly across the sky. A thin layer of fog sat close to the ground, giving the place a mystical and peaceful feel. I drug in a deep breath and turned towards the sparring pack of wolves before me. It was beautiful to watch, mysterious and full of wonderment. I shrunk low to the ground and crept closer to the nearest group. When I had gotten close enough, I threw myself at the nearest wolf, tackling him to the ground. A growl ripped through the air and I laughed, standing and wiping the dirt off of my jeans.

"Okay, guys, that's enough. The Cullen's will be here shortly and we need to get a game plan. With that said, go on and phase. I'll see you in a second."

I shook my head as the all trotted off into the cover of the trees, and smiled as a cool hand was placed on my shoulder. Carson stood beside, a bright and excited smile bearing his pearly white teeth for everyone to see. He kissed my cheek and waved towards the other side of the clearing. The Cullen's stepped out, their skin sparkling like a thousand tiny diamonds, and made their way towards me. Bella was amongst them, clinging to her own personal leech. I chuckled at that thought. It was overly obvious that I had been spending way to much time with the wolf pack.

"Hey, Linz!" Emmett said, picking me up in a hug.

"Emmett." I replied laughing.

"Where is Jacob?"

"Their phasing. It's far easier to solidify a plan when everyone can be a part of it."

"I can..."

"We all know you could translate, Edward, but that makes them uncomfortable."

Silence fell as we waited for the pack to re-emerge. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they came back out. They made a loose semicircle around me and stood waiting for the first person to speak. I would never understand these people.

"Okay, so I'm obviously the only person out here capable of intelligent thought. Therefore, I'll start. Are Jake and I still going to be guarding Bella?"

"We think that would be best. Victoria knows nothing about you, and Jacob will be in the tree line behind you." I nodded.

"It would be beat for us to attack separately as well, "Jasper said, taking a step forward, "The newborns will have no idea that the wolves exist. If they believe that it will only be seven of us against them, they will become more confident and more sloppy."

"I agree."

Jasper tipped his head at Sam, and I grinned. Finally, they decide to work together. I know it's not everyday that something like this takes place, that wolves and vampires work together, but they are in the situation to where they have too. An extremely warm, large hand was sat against the small of my back, and I smiled up at Jake. He was nervous and worried, maybe even a little scared, but it was for everyone else. I watched the emotions play across his face for a moment, before looking around at the group of fighters, the group of friends and enemies made to work together for a common goal. Some of them would be hurt, it was just part of the territory, but if they kept their heads on themselves instead of everyone else it would be far less than what I thought.

"Hello? Are you even listening to me?" Carson said, waving his hand in front of my face.

"No, I wasn't."

"And we need to concentrate?"

"Shut up, Carson, what did you want?" I noticed that everyone hand walked off now. Apparently this was private.

"Be careful out there, Linz."

"All of you are protecting me, Bella and Jake. We're gonna be bored to tears while ya'll fight."

"I hope so. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt." Carson wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead gently.

"You worry too much, big brother."

"Someone has too."

"I'll be fine. You forget, I've been doing this far longer then most of the people here."

"Slayer or not, Linz, you're still human."

I rolled my eyes, gave him a reassuring smile, and kissed his cheek. I knew and understood the reasons that Carson was worried. It was no secret to him that I have a slight hero complex. I would sacrifice myself in a heart beat to save any one of the people standing around me. It was only natural for him to be worried. Like I said, however, they were fighting to protect us. I doubted that anyone would get to the three of us.

We all relaxed as much as possible for the next few hours, waiting for the time when Alice would tell us to get ready. I knew the moment she got the vision. Bella, Jake and I all moved towards the far side of the clearing. The wolves faded into the trees and the Cullen's and Carson stood tall and proud at the center. I smiled at my brother as he turned to look at me briefly.

They poured from the opposite tree lines. Dozens upon dozens of starving newborn vamps just itching to get their hands on the girl who stood slightly behind me. There were far more than we had anticipated, and within seconds the clearing was littered with demolished newborns. I watched nervously as the wolves, the Cullen's and my brother were overwhelmed by their numbers. Emmett went down, but was quickly back on his feet thanks to Sam and his quick thinking. Seth yelped, tumbled and howled in pain, causing me to take a step forward in order to restrain Bella. Things were deteriorating quickly. You know what they say...The best laid plans can often get screwed.

Bella screamed and I turned as Jacob flew into the fray, leaving me alone to see to Bella's safety. I grabbed her and pushed her behind me, trying to use myself as a shield from the approaching newborns. Three stood before me, their eyes as red as rubies and their thoughts clear as day. Kill...Feed. My back straightened and I pushed Bella to the ground. They moved towards me together, their speed disorienting to normal humans, but to me it was normal. I dodged the first attempt to get me, swung and connected with the second, but I miscalculated the third. My arm was in it's cold, pale hand before I could register a way to get out of it and my wrist broke. A pain filled yell was ripped from my throat and my knees gave out momentarily before the tick was ripped from me and dismembered. I looked into the eyes of my worried brother as he approached me and I nodded back to the small war going on before me. He left reluctantly.

My eyes widened when I first saw her, pushing her way through the crowd and quickly making her way towards me. In that moment, all I could think was shit. No one was paying attention as Victoria came towards me, a wide, maniacal smile spread across her features. I yelled for Bella to run, and knew the moment that she left. She knew where to go. Victoria tried to bypass me, but I grabbed her and engaged myself in the first battle I had been in since the fight started. She was fast and obviously intelligent. We moved quickly, both of us blurring in our speed and hisses of pain and anger escaping us. Finally, after endless minutes, I landed a hit and sent her to the ground. I wrapped my arms around her head momentarily, but she slipped out. I could hear yells of pain and triumph, but I could not join in.

My name was called and I glanced, which was stupid. Victoria slipped one arm around my waist and the other around my head exposing my throat and sunk her teeth into the side. I sucked in a deep breath as fire began to spread and my life force leaked from my neck into her mouth. My wide, terrified eyes met Carson's and then Jacob's, both of which were running towards me with impressive speed. My eyes leaked tears against my will and then she was gone, her scream of agony ripping through the air.

"Linzie, come on, look at me."

My honey colored eyes sought out the voice and connected with Carson's topaz. The worry was clearly written over his face but he turned from me, stood and grabbed an attacking newborn. They were still fighting, still killing, and the venom was ripping through my veins painfully. I tried to hole it back, really I did, but as the last newborn fell I screamed. Heat enveloped my face and the back of my head, and I knew that Jacob had placed my head in his lap. People were screaming, cursing and trying to figure out what had happened. My vision was getting dark and my eyes drooped.

"Linz, sweetheart, stay awake. Do you hear me? You have to stay awake." Carson's voice was panicked and my eyes opened.

"What the hell happened?"

"She's been bitten. God, I knew better than to let her stay in the clearing."

"Well, fix her. She heals as fast as I do, and she's stronger than you are."

"Carson..." I coughed and tasted the metallic tinge of blood in my mouth. The venom was spreading quickly.

"It's not that simple. The venom is poison to her. I have to figure out how far it has spread before I know what I can do."

"It's spreading quickly," Carlisle told him as he examined me, "You only have seconds before the change has progressed to far."

"You don't understand! She won't change. She'll die."

"Carson." My voice fluttered across the air in a pain filled whisper and my brother knelt beside me. "I need to tell you..."

"Don't talk. You need to save your strength."

"I love you, bubba."

Carson looked into my eyes, and I knew that if he could he would be crying. "Don't. I can stop this."

"Then fucking stop it already!"

Pain rippled threw my body and I screamed, the tears coming faster as the pain got worse. I could hear Jacob whispering into my ear, telling me that I could not leave him, begging me to stay. Cool hands wrapped around my wrist and I glanced at my brother as his head lowered to my neck. As he tasted human blood for the first time, my eyes fluttered shut, my breathing slowed, and I knew no more.


	11. Of Hospitals and Broken Girls

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. They mean the world to me and I am grateful and humbled by them. Writing is something I love to do and I'm glad that I can share it with all of you. Now, I'm sure some of you who read this are thinking mutinous thoughts about what happened to Linzie in the last chapter. Sorry about that, but it had to occur. I hope that the next few chapter's will bring to light way. They will be in Jacob's POV. Maybe that will win me some brownie points back! :) Please, review. They make me happy and they make me write faster! Thanks bunches, again! Now, onto Chapter 10!

Jacob's POV

Everything in me was screaming to pull her brother away from her, but I knew that he was doing what he could to help. I continued to whisper in her ear long after her honey colored eyes had fluttered shut, telling her things that were both important and asinine. Linzie's heart stuttered and her breathing became even more shallow. The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks as her brother pulled himself away from her exposed neck. His eyes lost the familiar topaz color and had changed to the color of the darkest rubies. His jaw was locked tight and he stared down at his sister with hunger, pain, and regret. I did not know what to think about that look.

Brushing my knuckles down my imprints cheeks caused me to shiver. Her face was white as snow, her lips were incased in blue, and her face was cool. A cough tore from her throat, causing blood to bubble in her mouth ominously. I turned her to the side and watched in heart stopping horror as blood coated the green grass beneath us. Her body was quaking in tiny spasms of pain for a few moments before she went still, deathly still. Her heart stuttered irregularly and her lungs gurgled with every breath she took. I looked up at her brother, silently pleading for him to do something.

"I've done all that I can, Jacob," Carson said to me, "Carlisle, can you do anything?"

"Take her to the hospital and request me specifically. We will be along shortly."

Carson lifted Linzie's still form from my arms, and I growled before I could stop myself. He did not even blink in my direction. Sam signaled for me to follow my imprint, and turned to the newborns that littered the ground. I watched momentarily as they lit the fire and began to dispose of them. Carson had disappeared, no doubt using his speed to reach the hospital more quickly than he could have with a car. I stripped off my shorts and phased in the same smooth movement, leaving the denim to hang haphazardly from my mouth.

I could smell the blood in the forest, and my stomach lurched in protest. Drops littered the ground in a grotesque trail, winding its way through the trees and across the main road. As heartbreaking as it was knowing that it was Linzie's, I followed it without stopping. Within a few minutes, I could see the hospital looming on the other side of the trees. I stopped, phased, and walked towards the sliding glass doors of the hospital. Carson was standing outside of them, holding a black t-shirt in his hands. I took it from him and offered a brief thanks, throwing it over my head and walking into the waiting area.

We sat in the uncomfortable, blue plastic chairs for an eternity. Carson held his head in his hands and I could hear him voicing a silent prayer, begging God to allow his sister to stay with him. I did something in that moment that I never thought I would do. I moved closer to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The vampire brother of my imprint looked into my eyes and smiled his thanks. It was in that moment that I understood why Bella, and even Linzie, could stand to be around these creatures. They were not all bad. Hell, if Carson was not cold to the touch and had those creepy eyes you would not know he was any different.

"Mr. Dayton?"

Carson stood more quickly than a human should and turned towards the nurse, "Yes?"

"Dr. Cullen would like to speak with you in his office. It's right this way."

Carson's body tensed and I was sure that, if he still had a heart beat, it would have stopped right then. I watched him go and slouched tiredly into the chair I was sat in. The rest of the pack had started to filter into the hospital at random interval's, no doubt taking turns to make sure I was alright and to find out what as going on. Carson had been gone for more than an hour, and I had the sudden urge to go looking for him. I had been panicking off and on since he had left, and the longer he was gone the more I panicked. Surely he would have come and told me if she had...Nevermind. Not going there. I heard slow footsteps approaching me, but I did not look up. I was sure that it was just another one of the pack taking their turn to come and check on me.

"Jacob."

My eyes rose and locked onto the fading red of Carson's and I stood, "How is she? What's going on? What are they..."

Carson lifted his hand to stop me and then sat lightly on one of the chairs, "Carlisle is doing everything he can, "he said, running his head through his hair in his worry, "He has her in surgery right now. The venom spread so quickly that her organs were shutting down because of all the bleeding it caused."

"What? What does that mean?"

"He isn't sure that he can fix the damage it caused, but he is trying. They had to revive her twice after they took her back into the O.R."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"I don't know, Jacob. I really don't know. All we can do is wait."

I sat down slowly as what he had just told me sunk into my mind. Linzie might not make it. She might die, she already had twice. The palms of my hands dug into my eyes as they began to burn and a cold hand rested itself on my shoulder. I knew it was Carson and I knew that if he could, he would be crying himself. A sob broke free from me and my body shook in realization and denial. She could not die, she could not leave me. I need her. My heart shattered into a million jagged pieces and seemed to pierce my soul. This could not be happening.

More footsteps approached, but I could not find it in myself to care that someone was seeing me this broken over someone I had known for only a few short weeks. Carson left my side and someone else took his place, placing both arms around my shoulder's and pulling me close. I lifted my head and my eyes met a pair my exact color and shape. My father was sitting before me, tears leaking slowly from aged, wise eyes. I allowed him to hold me, placing my head into the crook of his neck. He was whispering words to me in our native language, words of comfort, hope, and love. He was crying for me, crying because I was in pain, and he rubbed slow circles on my back. It was relaxing me and, even though I fought against it, it put me to sleep.

Later that night

My eyes fluttered open and I groaned. They hurt. No doubt from all the crying I had done earlier in the day. I looked out of the large window in the waiting room, and sighed tiredly. The moon was reaching it's peak which told me that it was close to midnight. I looked around the waiting room and noticed that it was filled with members of the pack, Carson, and my father. The latter two were talking quietly a few seats down from where I had been laid to sleep. A few of the pack were sleeping, but a good number of them were still wide awake. Emily was there with Sam and the other pack member's that had imprints were sat around holding their sleeping mates closely. It made my heart clench and I rubbed my eyes.

"Hey, Jake. How are you feeling, son?"

"I'm alright." I told him shrugging, "Have you heard anything about Linzie?"

"She's still in surgery, " Carson said, a sigh escaping his lips, "The damage was extensive."

"She's been in there for, what, six hours now? How much longer could it possibly take? Have you talked to Dr. Cullen?"

"Carlisle sent a nurse out about two hours ago. From what she told me, they will be working on her for at least two more hours."

"Does anyone know how the redhead leech got to her, or what exactly happened?"

"Bella and the rest of the Cullen's were here a few hours ago. Linzie had fended three newborns off before Victoria came anywhere near her and one broke her right arm, which has already been fixed." Carson sighed and rubbed his hand across his face in mild anger, "After that little fight, which I finished for her, Victoria came at her and she told Bella to run. She saw Linzie stop her from getting to Bella, but she didn't see anything else after that. She went straight for Bella and Linzie, though. She didn't come anywhere near the rest of us."

"Why would she go straight for Linzie? Why wouldn't she go for Edward? He was the whole reason she was coming for Bella to begin with."

"We don't know, but we are fairly positive that Victoria didn't know that Linzie could fend for herself. We don't believe that she knew Linzie was anymore than a human girl standing by her target."

"Bella also said that the leech would have completely bypassed Linzie had she not grabbed her to prevent her from getting to Bella." Sam said, taking the open seat beside me. My father looked at me sadly.

"Linz has always had a hero complex. She would have willingly died for anyone in that clearing, on our side of the battle anyway. I just can't figure out how Victoria got the upper hand on her. She's fought tougher vampires."

We lapsed into silence after that. No one really knew what to say about what Carson had revealed. The other's and I knew that Carson had wanted Linzie and Bella as far away from that clearing as possible, and had thrown a fit to see it happen. Linzie was stubborn if anything, however, and she got her way eventually. Rushed footsteps were heard coming their way and Carson, the pack, and myself stood and faced the person who rounded a corner. They did not stop at the waiting room, but rushed to the nurses station instead. There were shouts across the desk followed by a small army of nurses coming from behind the automatic doors that lead into the emergency room.

"Code Blue! Someone go and grab the paddles! Make it fast!"

A single nurse veered off from the rest and ran down an adjoining hall. I watched with baited breath and I could fell the panic building. Something was wrong with Linzie. I knew it. My heart fluttered abnormally and the room swam before my eyes. My hand found it's way to my forehead and a startled groan left me as I tipped sideways. Cold arms caught me and laid me face up on the floor.

It was only a few disorienting moments that I laid on the cool, tile floor, but it was long enough for me to realize that something was seriously wrong with my imprint. Carson had disappeared and Sam knelt over me, trying to find out what had happened. I could not answer because even I was not sure was had transpired. They helped me to my feet and I blinked blearily down at my father. His eyes were glassed over once again, and Sam was still shooting question's at me.

"Where is Carson?"

"A nurse came to get him, Jake. She was covered in blood and looked..."

"That's enough, Embry."

"It's Linzie. Something is seriously wrong."

"You don't know that, Jake. Just calm down and Carson will be back soon."

Sam was right, of course, but the news that Carson brought to me and those waiting around me caused shock to ripple through us. The next seventy-two hours would tell us whether or not my imprint would live or die. Carlisle had done everything he could. Now he was just waiting for Linzie's superhuman healing to kick in. How did this affect me, you ask? Simple. I fainted.


	12. Imprint?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 11! This thing took me forever to write and I'm still not completely happy with how it turned out. it feels kind of rushed. Anyway, I hope you all like it! Thanks again for all of the reviews! I have 26 now, and I'm completely thrilled about that fact, but I have a challenge. I have the twelfth chapter written and ready to post, but I'm going to hold back. This is why. I love hearing from all of you. With that said, here is your challenge. If you can get me up to 55 reviews, I will post not only chapter twelve but chapters 13 and fourteen all in the same day. If not, well, you'll still get chapter twelve! :) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Now let's get those 55 reviews. I really want you guys to have those three chapters! Good luck!

Jacob's POV

Two days had passed and Linize was still in a coma. Despite everyone encouraging me to go home and get some sleep, I stayed at the hospital and slept on those tiny blue uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. Linize had had a few problems in the past forty-eight hours and, once, we thought there was no hope left. She was technically dead for more than six minutes. Now, on top of everything else, Carlisle was worried about the damage her brain may have suffered due to the lack of oxygen. One more day. That's all she had left to rebound and I was a wreck. Machines were still breathing for her, a heart monitor beeped sluggishly beside the bed, and I was clasping her cold hand in my large warm one.

Carson was another permanent fixture in the room since Linzie had been brought in. The staff had stopped asking us to leave and encouraging us to eat and sleep. If Linzie did not improve in the next twenty-four hours, Carson had a hard decision to make. From what we had been told, her 'slayer gene' as Dr. Cullen called it, was trying to heal her but was having trouble repairing the lasting damage that Vampire venom had on its victims. Her organs were basically irreparable medically and, even though she was fighting, the good doctor did not know if she was strong enough to fight it off. He explained that her body treated the venom as an infection, which meant that she kept an insanely high temperature, and that her superhuman cells were trying to rebuild the organs like we normally regenerate skin. They took her out of the room a couple of hours ago in order to run some tests to see if they could tell whether or not she was healing at all.

I was sitting with her alone, now. Carson had went to speak with Carlisle about what the tests had shown, and he and I were both nervous. The results would lead Carson a decision. The decision itself was easy enough to understand. Pull the plug and let her go, or keep them hooked up and give her a chance to heal. I know what I would do. I would keep her on the machines until she healed. Carson was a completely different story. Linzie's wishes were very clear. If she had more than a fifty percent chance of pulling through, she stayed in the things keeping her alive. If she had less that a forty-five percent chance, Carson was to pull the plug. There was no in-between, no wiggle room for Carson to push his luck. After their parents were killed, Linzie had had a will made. It stated, specifically, what she told Carson. It also meant that if he could not comply with her wishes that her attorney would come and take that decision away from Carson. She had screwed him.

"You have to pull through this, Linz. I can't live with out you. Please, wake up."

"She can hear you, you know."

My head raised quickly. Edward Cullen stood in the doorway, a small smile graced his stone features. I nodded to let him know I heard him but did not actually answer him. After the fight and Linzie was hurt, I could barely speak to Edward or Bella. It was there fault, at least in my mind. I know Linzie grabbed the leech to protect Bella, but if the Cullen's had not killed her mate she would have never came for Bella and Linzie would be fine. Edward sat in the chair across from me and tilted his head slightly, his eyelids fell over his eyes and he sat completely still for a moment.

"Her heart sounds like its gotten stronger," He said and I raised my eyebrow, "That has to mean that her slayer gene is doing it's job."

"Maybe."

"She would not want you to give up, Jacob."

"I haven't given up. Unlike you, I want the girl I loves heart to continue beating."

Edward scowled but said nothing. I knew that what I had said would shut him up, which is why I said it. He was trying to help. I knew that deep down, but something in me was not in the mood to forgive. Maybe after Linzie woke up that would change. Bella had come by a few times until finally she stopped. I had been cruel to her. I knew that. After the last time that she had left crying, she had not returned. It was fine by me, which was shocking considering that I was so in love with her a few weeks ago. I looked up when Carlisle and Carson entered the room. Carson looked like the weight of the world that weighed heavily on his shoulders had lessened the pressure. My body tensed and I waited.

"She seems to be healing herself. It's a slow process, but from what I have seen we think that she may wake up in the next week. Her chances have increased exponentially."

"So, she is going to be alright?"

"She will live, Jacob. We still do not know what the lasting affects will be, but for now everything seems to be looking up."

I sighed and laid my head on the side of her bed. That was the first piece of good news we had had in what felt like years. Footsteps could be heard leaving the room and a cold hand laid itself on my back. I knew it was Carson. After as much time as we spent together I was hyper aware of him. Since that day, we had become friends and it was hard to think of him as anymore that a human. It was hard to see him as anything more than a worried older brother. He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and told me that he was leaving to go on a hunt with Emmett. I nodded. Apparently he would be gone until tomorrow and had asked some of the pack to come by and help him keep an eye on Linzie and myself. I was thankful.

After he left, I relaxed. I had never been so tired in my life, and that included the patrols that I had been on in the months leading up to the newborn fight. There were so many things that I wanted to say, so many things that I wanted to do, but I always felt like the energy had been drained from me. In the past two days, I had not phased even once. Sam had been by last night to explain that the exhaustion I felt had to do with the fact that my imprint was fighting for her life. My wolf was trying to give her and energy boost. If she died, well, exhaustion would be the least of my worries. Because I was the rightful Alpha, my imprint on Linzie was ten times strong than the other wolves and their mates. If she died, I would follow her.

I did not want to die anytime soon, don't get me wrong, but living without her would be too difficult. I saw it as a small mercy. Embry and Quil came by and sat with me for hours. I knew they were trying to cheer me up and I appreciated it. It helped take my mind off of all the depressing thoughts that it seemed to want occupy. They told me that the had not ran across anymore leeches in the past few days. I was glad to hear that, but none of us honestly expected too. They brought me food that Sue Clearwater had made, and I was never so happy to see something other than hospital food. They never seemed to serve enough here to make a dent in my appetite. We practically swallowed everything hole. By the time that night had fallen and Embry drug Quil out of the room, I was having trouble keeping my eyes opened. All I wanted to do was sleep. So, I reclined in the chair I was perched in and finally let sleep consume me. If anything happened I would be the first to know.

A few hours later, I realized that something was very wrong. The room was not quiet and the continued beeping of the heart monitor was gone. I could hear voices whispering back and forth somewhere close to the bed that I had fallen onto in my sleep. How did I manage that? Instead of moving, I strained my ears to listen to the conversation taking place above me. My heart nearly stopped.

"No, Carson. Let him sleep. You said yourself that he hasn't left the hospital since I got here. He is bound to be exhausted."

"He just woke up, sweetheart."

"What?"

"He's heart is beating a mile a minute. He's awake alright."

A small, warm hand found its way into my hair and I sucked in a breath through my teeth. I had to be dreaming. Carson was off hunting with the big guy, Emmett, and he would not be back until the morning. That is when I became aware that the sun was filtering through the window behind me. The rays were not in my eyes which meant that it was probably late afternoon.

"Jake?"

It was the sweetest sound I had heard in days, and the warmth in her voice wrapped around me. I sat up slowly and my eyes sought out the familiar honey of hers. I felt relief, pride, and love swell in my chest as I looked at her. A small smile curved her lips, her hair had been pulled up to sit on the top of her head, and most of the tubes had disappeared from her body. The heart monitor, I realized, was not gone but turned down to a barely audible beep. Linzie was sitting up in her bed and eating. Her face was still slightly pale and the bite mark on her neck was still covered in gauze and medical tape. I smiled, picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. She was awake.

"You're awake?"

"Well spotted, wolf-boy." She chuckled and her smile widened as I pushed a stray piece of chocolate hair behind her ear.

"She has been for about four hours. She wouldn't let me wake you."

"You still should have." Carson nodded and smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I have been hit by a very large truck but I'm awake, which is an improvement according to my brother."

"It is an improvement. You scared the hell out of all of us, Linz!" Carson told her, his eyes were still rimmed in red.

"It wasn't intentional. I still don't remember why I'm in here to begin with, and no one will tell me."

"You don't remember?"

"No, and Dr. Cullen has told everyone not to tell me until he can figure out how much I don't remember. Personally, I think it's completely stupid. I have a right to know what I'm in the hospital and what happened for me to scare the hell out of everyone."

I glanced at Carson and he shook his head, telling me that she was not just playing with me. I wanted to find out exactly what she could and could not remember, but I'm not medically trained and there was no way for me to find out without me revealing something that I should not. I sighed and Carson changed the subject. As I listened to them talk, it became obvious that she at least remembered up to me being hurt the first night we met. That was weeks of memory loss, but I knew it could have been worse. After a while, Linzie became exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. I did not like it. Something in me was afraid she would not wake up again.

Carson waved me out of the small room, and I followed him outside and into the tree line. He paced for a while, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then began pacing again. I did not know what to make of how he was acting. In the past few days, he had been completely calm and now that his sister was awake it seemed like his restlessness was taking over. So, I watched him paced. I had no idea how long we had been out there, Carson was still pacing and I was still watching him, but I was becoming restless being away from Linzie.

"Carson!" I said loudly causing him to stop and face me, "What is it that you wanted exactly? You didn't bring me out here just to watch you pace a canyon into the ground."

"I know something is going on between you and my sister, Jacob, something out of the norm. You have only known her for a few weeks and you stayed by her side like she was the love of your life that you have been married too for years. I want you to tell me what's going on."

"I don't know what you mean." I cleared my throat and stared through him.

"You're lying. Look, I'm not going to tell Linzie, God knows she couldn't handle it right now, but I need you to be honest with me."

I sighed and met his eyes, they were worried and tired looking, "I imprinted on her, that day that she came with Dr. Cullen to patch me up."

"Imprinted?"

"Your sister is my soul mate. It's like that anyway. I can't really explain it, but it means that I live and breath to protect and love only her. I could never cheat on her, and no matter what woman is around I'll always only see her. I'm in love with her."

"Wolf thing?"

'Wolf thing."

He stared at me intensely for a long moment before his mouth split into a huge grin, "Okay, lover-boy, let's get you back to your imprint."

I followed him in a daze. Of all the things I thought he would do and say, that was not on the list. I looked at the back of his head and sighed in relief. Until then I did not realize that I wanted his approval and blessing, and I had never been so relieved to have it.


	13. Freak out, slayer style!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Chapter 12! Back to Linzie's POV we go. Time to see what she really remembers, yes? Who knows, maybe there are a few things that she realized while she was trapped in her coma. Hmmm...We shall see. Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are freakin AWESOME! Enjoy and remember, Reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

By the way, thanks to all of you who tried to help me get to 55 reviews. We didn't reach it, but I've decided to give you the three chapters on the same day anyway. I hope you enjoy.

Linzie

When I woke up for the second time, Jacob and Carson were both missing in action and I was relieved. Although I had told Carlisle that I did not remember what landed me in the hospital, I did. Well, okay, I remembered most of it. I remembered the fight and the weeks leading up too it. I remembered Carson bailing me out when I had been out numbered. I even remembered telling Bella to run and starting the fight with Victoria. It was after that that my memory went fuzzy. For some reason I think someone called out for me, whether it was in warning or panic I don't remember. After that, though, everything is gone. I sighed and went to crack my neck. Son of a bitch did that hurt! I placed my hand on the side of my neck and felt a thick padding of gauze and tape.

"What the hell?"

I stood up on shaky legs and slowly made my way to the small bathroom connected to my room. The light was already on as I stepped in front of the small mirror above the sink. I could see the gauze and I recognized that it being there meant that I had been injured in that spot, but I was confused as to how I got the injury. Slowly, so as to not reopen what ever wound lay underneath, I removed the tape. I took a deep breath and the gently removed the gauze that I had held in place. My eyes bulged out of my head and I screamed. There was no way in hell that that was what it looked like. Perfect teeth marks were at the bend of my neck, right where it faded into my shoulder. It was swollen and angry looking with little droplets of blood still trickling out of the wound.

I heard footsteps making their way quickly into the room, and worried and anxious voices calling for me. Jacob and Carson were back and, from what I could hear, Carlisle was with them. My eyes found my reflection and the girl staring back at me was pale with dark circles under her eyes, her hair was pulled on top of her head and was greasy and unkempt, and her face was shrunken and terrified. There was no way I was looking at me. This was some sick joke.

A knock sounded on the bathroom door, I had not even realized that I had shut it, and Carson's voice sounded from the other side. I could not take my eyes of the girl before me. I could not take my eyes off of the wound that lay open and bleeding on my neck. I had been bitten. A vampire fucking bit me! Anger flared inside me and I yanked the door open with such force that I heard the hinges start to give. Carson and the other two looked stunned, whether by the strength I had just used or the anger marring my face I did not know. I turned my head to left briefly, pointed to it, and heard two sharp intakes of breath.

"Someone mind telling me why I have a mark on my body that tells me I was used for a midnight snack?"

"Linz, calm down."

"I will not calm down! A vampire fucking bit me, Carson! It bit me!"

"Linzie, I know this must be very confusing and frustrating but I think that..."

"I don't give a damn what you think! I want to know what happened and I want to know now! Do you see this?" I questioned, pointing towards the mark on my neck, "This could have very well killed me, and I don't mean in the sense that you're dead, Carlisle! I mean dead, as in never to open my eyes or take another breath dead. So, it would be in all of your best interests to tell me what the hell happened, or it is going to get very messy in here."

My body was shaking so hard that it vaguely reminded me of how Jacob looked before he phased. I knew that I was causing a scene. I also knew that if anyone apart from Carlisle, Jacob, and Carson heard what I was raving about that they would lock me in a psych ward for the rest of my life. I honestly did not care at this point. I wanted to know how a vampire got a hold of me long enough to bite me.

Realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and my knees tried to give out. Luckily, I was close enough to the bed that I did not further injure myself. Victoria. I remembered. When we were fighting, I had gotten the upper hand but someone called my name and distracted me. I had only glanced in the direction my name had came from, nothing more, but in that split second our positions were reversed. I remembered the first wave of pain, the fast moving and agonizing burn that torn through my body, Carson begging me to say awake, and Jacob whispering in my ear as tears fell from those gorgeous brown eyes. I remembered the taste of my blood bubbling up into my mouth and Carson placing his own mouth over Victoria's mark. He had sucked the venom out and Jacob had held me. Pieces of conversations started coming to me then. I could remember some of the things Jake whispered in my ear.

_You can't leave me, Linzie. I need you. _

He needed me. Why? He had only known me for a couple of weeks, but I knew that he meant it. I needed him too. I could feel something connecting us now, when I was trying to heal myself. I could feel this pull leading me back up from the darkness. I could feel this warmth radiating through my entire body through my hand. The same hand he had been holding when I had woken up.

_I love you. Please, open your eyes._

He had said this while we were still in the clearing. Even though I was out of it, almost dead if I had to guess, I could still remember the feel of the grass under me. It terrified me. The fact that this gorgeous man loved me, and the fact that I knew I loved him in return. How could we need each other so much in such a short amount of time? How could I fall for a boy that I barely knew? My eyes flew to Carson and more words whirled through my mind.

_Linz, sweetheart, stay awake. Do you hear me? You have to stay awake._

Carson had said this, had begged this of me. He was frightened. Even as he got ready to draw the venom out of my body, he knew that it could kill me. That he could have killed me if he could not stop. He had risked being consumed by the need for human blood in order to save me. I was leaving him, or trying too. I remembered the pain and I shivered. They had watched me scream and writhe in agony, and had done the best that they could to keep me with them. My brother had nearly lost one of the few members of family he had left. I felt tears swim in my eyes.

The longer I sat there, the more I could remember, and it was horrible. Here I was freaking out because I had been bitten, and they had done everything to save me. I looked up as the cold engulfed one hand and all consuming warmth found the other. The two people in the world that I loved more than anything sat before me crying because I was crying. They sat there with me reliving the pain and terror, and they were doing that only because I was feeling it all over again. I gave them a watery smile and kissed them both on the head. My brother would always be with me, no matter what. I was stuck with him and I wanted to be stuck with Jacob for the rest of my life as well. I could not do that, however, until after I had found the Volturi and knocked them down a few notches.

"Thank you both. You have no idea how much each of you helped me the past couple of days."

"You woke up all on your on, sis. I love you."

"I love you too, Carson. Jake," I said, looking into those loving brown eyes, "You helped bring me back. I could hear you talking to me. I owe you so much."

"Your here and your alive. There is nothing else I want more."

Even though my decision had been made, even though I had decided to wait to pursue a relationship with the man before me; I leaned down and kissed him. I knew then that if I could do nothing else but kiss him the rest of my life, I would be content.


	14. Threats and Heartbreaks

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: So, this is Chapter 13. I hope you guys enjoy it. Linzie and Carson have a few more trials to over come. The isn't much to say about this chapter other than Linzie gets to show her a$$! That's always fun. :) Hope you enjoy. Reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

Linzie

It had been months since that day in the hospital, and a ton had happened. Bella Swan was now Bella Cullen. Let me tell you how excited that made me. Jake and the pack had actually shown up at the wedding, surprising not only the bride but me as well. He still could not find it in him to forgive them for their hand in my near death experience. Personally, I did not think there was anything to forgive. Vampires were insane. Victoria was not their fault. Okay, so Victoria coming after Bella was but my injures were my own stupidity. Anyway, things were more tense now than ever between the pack and the Cullen's. Bella wanted to be changed, which really put the pack in an uproar. It was against this treaty that they had formed. I thought she was being an idiot, myself. Who in their right mind would choose to be dead, cold, and live on blood for the rest of eternity? Nevermind, I answered my own question.

I rolled my eyes at the conversation taking place around me. Carson had gotten involved in the ever present arguement of Bella's immortality. They could not give Carson one good reason to change the girl into a walking corpse. His words, not mine. Frankly, I think they should let the overly obsessed girl commit suicide if she really wanted. I mean, whether it was here or somewhere else, they were going to do it. No point in arguing over it. Hell,maybe if they changed her ass she would be less whiny and annoying. I did not really believe that, but I could dream.

"What in the hell is wrong with all of you?" My brother practically yelled, "So far, the only person here other than me and my sister with any common sense is Rosalie! This isn't some happily ever after!"

"It's not your decision! It's mine, and I have made up my mind!" Bella yelled back. I groaned and looked at Rosalie, who smiled at me.

"You are selfish! You're selfish and ignorant! You can just leave your parents, your friends, to become a monster?"

"If it means never losing him, yes, I will!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Shut the hell up! Both of you!" I finally snapped, "Carson, the entire pack, Rosalie and myself know you're right. Let her be an idiot if she wants too. I'm tired of hearing about it."

"There is more too it than that, Linzie."

I turned to look at Carlisle after he spoke and raised my eyebrow in question, "Really? Then explain, because if you don't it's going to get your family killed."

"The Volturi will come and kill us if we do not change Bella."

"The Volturi? They will come here?"

"Yes."

"Then let them come, " I said shrugging, "Someone needs to stand up too them."

"I want this! And you can't stop me."

"You're right I can't, nor was I going to try. Personally, I think if your dead I may lose the urge to kill you continuously. As for the Volturi, they will come either way to destroy you and the pack will come for you if you are changed. You're royally screwed either way, Swan."

"Jake would never hurt me! You don't know what you're..."

"Jake won't have a choice, you idiot child! This family made an agreement and they understood the consequences of going against it. If you are changed, you are signing their death warrants. I hope it's me that gets to finish you, so go a head and break the treaty. I know what side I'll fight on. Maybe I can get them to agree to not killing the rest of them if I just take you and Edward out myself."

"Linzie!"

"What, Carson? She's being an idiot and I am tired of being nice to the girl. I love Emmett, Rose, and the rest of them to death but those two I can not stand."

"What's going on in here? We could hear you in La Push."

I turned and grinned at Embry and the rest of the pack as they walked in. Those guys had wicked timing. Jake saw me as soon as he entered the house and made his way over, taking the seat beside me. He kissed my cheek and placed an arm around my shoulders. We had talked about a relationship between us. I did not tell him why, but I did tell him that I could not at the moment. So, we were just being us. Sure, we kissed and he had an obsession with holding my hand anytime we went somewhere together but we had not defined what we were. We acted like really affectinate friends if anything.

No one had said anything in a few minutes and you would have trouble cutting the tension with a knife. I looked around. Carson, Emmett, and Rose were talking with Sam and a few of the pack quietly. Probably about my very obvious threat against the newest Mrs. Cullen. Bella was glaring at me, whether it was due to my threat or the fact that Jake had his arm around me I did not know. The rest of them were ignoring each other.

"Anyone want to address the elephant in the room? You guys are acting like a bunch of middle school kids, and half of the people in here have been alive for more than a century."

"Let it go, Linz." Carson said.

"No, I'm tired of having to listen to it everytime I go around you guys. How about you act like adults and deal with this."

"There is nothing to deal with, Linzie. It's simple. They break the treaty by bitting Bella and it's an act of war."

I glared at Sam and stood from the couch, "How about you go after the one who breaks the treaty instead of the whole family? It's Bella that's being an idiot, not the rest of them. They just want to give her what she wants. Don't get me wrong, if you destroy Bella and Edward my life will get a hell of a lot better but the rest of them haven't done anything wrong."

A snarl riped through the air and I heard him seconds before he made contact with my side. Luckily, the venom had done nothing to my speed and other slayer traits. I moved, ended up behind him, and applied so much pressure to his neck that his face began to crack. He was fighting me, but I had a good grip on him. I saw Carson coming towards me but my glare stopped him in his tracks. Jacob had stood and took a few steps towards us, his body shaking violently. Emmett was just smirking at me. He knew that unless Edward actually stuck an attack I would not kill him. The rest of them were too shocked to move.

"I've told you, Eddie, I have no problem ending you. I don't care if it's now or later, but you had better make your decision. I will tear you to pieces in front of your precious Bella."

Bella was pleading with me, screaming and crying. It was the frst time I ever derived pleasure from causing pain to a human. Normally, it bothered me. Maybe it was the fact that it was Bella that I was hurting? I did not know. I had been told what she had put Jake through and it had made my dislike grow into hate. Edward was someon whom I never cared for. Two birds, one stone. Then again, Carlisle warned me that I may take on some traits of Victoria's. My new found enjoyment of causing pain must be one of them, but I was still convinced that it was just because it was Bella.

I looked at Edwards face and threw him to the ground, stepping over his body to take my previous position on the couch. No one said anything to me even though I knew they wanted too. Bella stooped down and kissed Edward, who held her close. Most of the people surrounding me were to terrified to move. Jake sat beside me again, and I gave his hand a reassusring squeeze. Conversation slowly started up again. Sam moved to talk to Carlisle about maybe amending the treaty a bit, and Bella and Edward disappeared. I did not care, that damn tick deserved what he got.

After a while, the pack left and I followed. Carson stayed in order to do damage control with Bella and Edward. I told him I was not worried about them. One was human and the other I could take easily, but he insisted. Jake and I decided to walk. I knew that this decision was based on the fact that he was about to chew me up one side and down the other for the stunts I pulled today. He knew about the obvious threat I made against Bella, and he was there when I almost killed Edward. I knew he was not happy with the way I had acted. I sighed and looked up at him. His face was mostly concealed by shadows but I could see perfectly in the dark. The muscle in his jaw was jumping, which I've learned is never a good sign. Not to mention his body had not stopped shaking for hours.

"Jake, I..."

"What were you thinking, Linzie? You almost killed Edward. For someone who wants to stop a war it sure looked like you were trying to start one."

"I've told you a million times. I don't want a war, but I'm not the rest of you. I'm not going to let Edward or Bella run all over me to keep the peace. I'm not part of this treaty and neither is my brother. You have made your own separate treaty with him. I don't have to be nice or pretend to like either of them and if I had killed Edward it would have been my problem, not the packs."

"You just don't get it, do you?" I looked at him in confusion, "You are part of the pack. Hell, even Carson is considered part of the pack. If Edward would have hurt you, it would have caused a war. If you would have killed him, it would have caused a war."

I sighed, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"No, you weren't." He looked down at me and lifted my face so he could look into my eyes, "I don't want you to get hurt again. It nearly killed me the last time. Please, just be careful."

"Alright."

We walked into Emily and Sam's house and I smiled at the pregnant woman. She was glowing. I would forever be grateful that I could have kids. She waved us to the table, and swatted Quil's hand away from the food sitting on top of it. Emily, myself, and the other girls of the human nature filled our plates and began to eat before the boys demolished it all. I hope none of us wanted anymore food. If we did, we would have to search through the cabnits. It was all gone within seconds and I laughed. There table manners were deplorable. My mother would have had a freakin' cow.

I felt my phone start to vibrate in my pocket and I took it out. A Tennessee number flashed up at me and my eyes narrowed in confusion. Other than my aunt, uncle, and two cousins, no one had this number. Jake nudged my side gently and I shrugged before standing and heading out of the front door.

"Hello?"

_"Yes, could I speak to a Ms. Linzie Dayton, please?"_

"This is Linzie Dayton."

_"Ms. Dayton, my name is Carla Nelson. I'm with the Department of Child Services here Madison County. I'm calling about your cousins, Cameron and Levi."_

My heart flew into my throat and I had to cough to clear it, "Yes, ma'am. Are they alright?"

_"Physically, they are just fine. A few days ago, your aunt and uncle's house caught fire."_

"What happened?"

_"Ms. Dayton, your aunt and uncle didn't survive the fire. According to their will, you and your brother are now the sole and legal guardians of Cameron and Levi. Your parents were suppose to have custody but, seeing as they were killed a few years ago, you and your brother are their only living family left to take them."_

My body began to shake and I sunk onto the top step of Sam and Emily's front porch, "Their dead?"

_"Yes, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry that you have to find out like this, but we had to get in touch with you. If you can not take your cousins they will be placed in foster care. Will you and your brother be coming to collect them?"_

My aunt and Uncle were dead, they were killed in a house fire, and my cousins were now temporary wards of the state. How could their house have caught on fire? It was brand new. I felt like I could not breath and tears rushed out of my eyes and down my face. Aunt Karen and Uncle David were the only immediate family we had left, and our two younger cousins. Now, they were orphans just like we were.

_"Ms. Dayton?"_

What am I going to do? Everything here was so dangerous. They did not know a single thing about vampires and werewolves. The supernatural was not a part of their lives. I can't bring them into this and Carson would not want to either, but Aunt Karen and Uncle David wanted them with us. They had nowhere else to go. If we didn't go and get them, they would be shipped from house to house until they turned eighteen. Levi was sixteen, almost seventeen, and Cameron had turned fifteen a few months ago.

_"Ms. Dayton, are you still there?"_

"Yes," I cleared my throat, "Yes, I'm here."

_"I know this must be a huge shock for you, but we really must know if you are coming to take custody of your cousins."_

"Yes. We'll be there to get them as soon as possible. Do I need to call you before we come?"

_"If it's not too much trouble, that would be appreciated. We have to get everything ready for them to leave. Now, I understand that you and your brother no longer live in Tennesse, is that correct?"_

"Yes, we moved to Forks, Washington a few months ago."

_"Very well. I just needed to be sure for their records. We will see you when you arrive, Ms. Dayton, have a good night."_

The line went dead and I slowly brought it away from my ear. My aunt and uncle were dead and Carson and I were now responsible for our younger cousins. My aunt and uncle were dead. The tears came again and a sob escaped me. This can not be happening. I heard a board creak behind me as my hands moved to my hair, my head was bowed and greif tore through my body. My parents and now my aunt and uncle! Who's next? A large, warm hand laid itself on my back as a large body sat itself beside me. Slow circles were being rubbed on my back, and Jake's voice whispered comforting words in my ear. What was I going to do? Neither me nor Carson had a job. Granted, we had the life insurance and the sum was large, but still.

"Linz, what's wrong?" Jake asked as he dropped a kiss onto my head. I looked up at him and the pad of his thumb began wipping my tears away.

"Their dead."

"Who? Who's dead?"

"My aunt and uncle. Their house burned down and they didn't make it."

"Oh, Linzie." He kissed my forehead, "I'm so sorry."

"I...I have to go back to Tennessee. Car..Carson and I have to go get our cousins."

"What do you mean?"

"Aunt Karen, she...she left a will. We now have custody of our younger cousins. They're sixteen and fifteen."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days. A week at the most."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, if we can."

He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed. Now I had to do something that I really did not want to do. Now, I had to tell Carson.


	15. To Tennessee and Back

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Aw! Poor Linzie and Carson! :( Things well get better frm here. No more drama for a bit. Well, no death anyway. I hope you guys like this. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! I really appreciate it. Keep it up. I have recently thought of writting a sequel to this. Please, let me know if you would enjoy a sequel. Thanks again!

Linzie: Monday

The clouds whipped by the small circular window I was sitting by on the plane. Carson was sitting beside me pretending to be asleep. Last night was rough. Carson went absolutely insane when I went back to the Cullen's and told him about our aunt and uncle. I had never seen him so angry. We had started our desent into the Nashville airport and, luckily, it was storming. I nudged Carson and his eyes automatically opened. He gave me a small smile and kissed my cheek. We were not looking forward to this. Our plane touched down and we grabbed our bags, slowly making our way through the terminal and towards our waiting rental car.

I smiled at the warmth that engulfed me. It was still muggy and hot in Tennessee, but it was something I missed. We threw our bags into the trunk and sunk tiredly into the seats. We still had over an hour of driving before we entered Madison County. I could remember the last time that I had seen my aunt and uncle. It was my high school graduation which took place in May. Aunt Karen was dressed in a beautiful, simple blue dress with the biggest smile gracing her face, my uncle was wearing his favorite green polo shirt and cahkis. The took us to eat after at this fancy resturant that I had been wanting to go to for years. It almost bankrupted them to take us. They were always like that, though. It was the only thing that I wanted and they made sure that I got it.

An hour and a half had passed quickly, and Carson pulled into the building where our cousins would be waiting. He shut the car off, unbuckled his seatbelt, and looked at me sadly. This was going to be one of the hardest things we had ever done. I pushed the door open, grabbed my purse, and walked around the car to take my brothers hand for comfort. He held the door open for me. As we entered, we noticed all of the people moving around quickly. Some were talking to children and other's were talking to their parents or guardians. A young, blonde woman sat behind a plexy glass window and I approached it.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Yes, ma'am. How may I help you?"

"My name is Linzie Dayton and this is my brother Carson, "I pointed behind me, "I spoke to a Mrs. Carla Nelson on the phone yesterday evening. I'm here to pick up my two younger cousins, Cameron and Levi Dayton."

"Have a seat, Ms. Dayton, and I'll let Carla know that you're here."

"Thank you."

Carson and I took a seat and I drew in a deep, nervous breath. I did not know what to expect once I faced Cameron and Levi. I was calm and seething with anger when my parents were killed. I shed very few tears when I was dealing with funeral arrangments and talking to the police. Carson was suppose to be unreachable. I had told them that he was on a trip with some friends. Of course, when I was certain he would not try to eat the first person he came into contact with, he spoke to the police. We knew how and why our parents died. Cameron and Levi had lost their parents without rhyme or reason to a house fire. I just knew they would be hysterically upset.

"Linzie and Carson Dayton," We looked up and into the eyes of a plump, kind looking woman. Her hair was cut short and her eyes spoke of too many years dealing with mistreated and orphaned children. I stood and shook her hand, "I'm Carla Nelson, your cousins caseworker. If you'll follow me, we'll sit down and discuss what's expected of you."

We followed Carla down a well lit, bright colored hallway and into a room with a dark wood door. Two chairs sat before a well used desk and a name placard sat at the edge of the it. She sat in a black leather chair with wheels and began pulling things up on her computer screen. Carson and I took the offered seats and waited patiently. First, she told us the findings of the fire department. That the house fire was caused by some bad wiring behind the stove. Then she explained that for the last few days, Cameron and Levi had been placed in a temporary foster home not far from where we were.

"I undersand that you both are anxious to see your cousins, but before we can release them into your custody there are a few papers that you must sign." She laid them out on the desk, "These state that you willing take full guardianship of both Cameron and Levi, that you have a house and stable environment to raise them in until they are both eighteen years of age, and that you have the financial means to produce anything that they may need."

"Should we expect visits from the Department of Children Services?" Carson asked as he signed his name quickly across the documents and passed them to me.

"A social work near Forks will be stopping by once a month for the first three months that they are in your care. It's fairly routine. They will simply sit and speak with the children and look around your home in order to make sure that it is indeed safe."

"We will need transcripts to enroll them in school as well as documentation stating that we are their guardians."

"They will be given to you before you leave to go back to Washington. I take it that you will be planning their funeral?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. They wanted the children to identify the bodies but, seeing as we could not reach you, we did not have the permission to take them to do that."

"Why would you let a fifteen year old and a sixteen year old go identify their parents dead bodies?"

"Someone had too. We finally found a family friend that went to identify them, a Mr. Christopher Michaels."

"How bad were they damaged? The bodies?" I asked, a shiver ghosting down my spine.

"From what I have been told, the bodies were completely unharmed. They died of smoke inhalation. When the firemen went in, the fire had yet to get into their room but it was full of smoke."

"Where were Cameron and Levi?"

"They weren't home. They had both went to stay with friends. Do either of you have anymore questions?"

"No, ma'am." We said.

"Alright. Cameron and Levi will be here in a few minutes. I would suggest that the both of you get ready, prepare yourselves as best as you can. They have been highly upset."

We nodded and she lead us from her office into another room down the hall. It was large with a white tile floor and dark brown walls. There was a couch, a table, and few chairs sat about the room along with a T.V. I took a seat on the couch and ran my hand through my hair nervously. This was not going to be easy. My brother stood staring out of the window. We could not seem to fill the silence. We had lost our parents a little more than two years ago, so we had faced the pain of loss once before. Not that Cameron and Levi had not. They loved our parents as much as we loved theirs. It's just that we did not know how to help them with their grief. Carson and I rarely talked about what happened to our parents.

The heavy wooden door opened slowly and I stood, waiting for my first look at my cousins since I left a few months ago. Levi was the first to enter. His light brown hair was sticking up all over the place and looked like he had been running his hand through it often, his face was pale and drawn with sadness, and his dark brown eyes held dark circle under them. Cameron followed him, her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail at the back of her head and the light blue of her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Each of them had a backpack and a duffle bag with them. When their eyes landed on ours they dropped their bags and rushed towards us. My arms wrapped around Cameron's shoulders as Carson pulled Levi into his.

We stood close together with our cousins crying into our shoulders for an innumerable amount of time. Their bodies quacked with sobs and I could feel Cameron's tears soaking my shirt. We spoke calm, quiet words of comfort to them but we knew that it really did not help. It did a bit, but not much. It was not like we could bring their parents back. They pulled away from us within seconds of each other and told us they were ready to leave, to get out of this place. Carson and I each took a duffle bag allowing Cameron and Levi to grabe the back packs. We drove to a hotel not far from where they use to live, rented a room for a week, and settled in.

"Are you guys hungry? We could order pizza if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

I nodded, took out my cell, and dialed the number to the local pizza place. We had half an hour to wait, so to pass time we took turns taking a shower. In no time, we were eating but conversation was scarce. They knew that we were taking them back to Washington with us, Carla had told them, but they asked no questions. It was unnerving how quiet they were being. The two were always so loud and full of energy. I guess that's what death does to you. We were all exhausted so, even though it was only eight o'clock, we went to bed. We have busy days to come.

Friday

"Damn it."

I had just tripped over my own two feet for the second time. I was rather talented when it came to walking in heels, but apparently today was not my day. I paced back and forth in front of the door that lead into the chapel of the funeral home that we had chosen for the service, smoking a cigarette and my cell phone glued to my ear. I was due to give the eulogy in about ten minutes and Jacob had decided to call and check on us.

"_Are you sure you're alright?"_

"Jake, for the hundredth time, I'm fine."

_"You don't act fine."_

"I don't like talking in front of people. I begged Carson to do it, but no. I'm stuck with it."

_"You'll do fine, babe. You wrote what you wanted to say down, right?"_

"Yeah, last night after Cammi and Levi finally went to sleep. That took twelve years."

Jake laughed.

"I'm serious. I remember the night after the wake for my parents. All I wanted to do was sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out, but they didn't pass out until after three this morning."

_"Didn't you say that they were having nightmares? About their parents dying?"_

"Yeah," I sighed, "I don't know what to do to help them. Levi hasn't been half as bad as Cameron. She cries and calls out for them in her sleep." I threw my cigarette into the pot and exhaled loudly.

_"It'll get better. They have you to help them."_

"Thanks, Jake. I'm not really sure that I'm the one to help, though. I haven't even dealt with my own parents deaths."

"Linz, we're about to start." Carson's head was peeking out of the door. I nodded at him.

"I've got to go."

_"Okay. Keep your head up, babe."_

"I will. I'll see you tomorrow night."

_"Sure, sure. See ya then."_

I hung up the phone, rolled my eyes to the sky in silent prayer, and followed my brother back into the chapel. My cousins were sitting in the front row of pughs, right in front of the caskets, with their heads bowed. I sighed and squeezed Levi's shoulder as I sat down. He gave me a small smile. As the pastor began to get the service underway, I looked around. There were flower arrangements everywhere. The two casket sprays were made of white lilie and roses, and they sat on top of the coal grey metal caskets. The service was beautiful. We had all discussed bible versus, pictures, and people we would like to talk about them. I was to give the euology.

I got a few laughs for stumbling over my words and for the few memories I decided to share. I did not want to be up there any longer than necissary. We arrived at the cemetery at around four, and left for the hotel room at a little till five. In the last few days, Cam and Levi had started to talk again. They asked questions about Forks and our friends there. The asked about the high school, which neither one of us knew anything about, and La Push. We were really vague about a lot of the things we had gotten up too. Our things were already packed and ready to leave when we got there. Our flight left at nine tonight, so we loaded up the car and left for Nashville.

As we loaded the plane and prepared for take off, Cam and Levi fell into an exhausted sleep. I followed shortly after.

Saturday Afternoon

I had never been so happy to see a town in my life. I was not sure when it had happened, but Forks had become my home. When the Cullen's had found out that we were gaining two more members of our family, they had immediately offered to build us a house and move our stuff in for us. That's where we were heading now. Carson was following Emmett and Rosalie down a gravel drive that lead up into the forest. When we had asked them to tell us something about the place, the one thing they actually gave away was that is sat on top of the treaty line. Half was on the packs side and half was on theirs. Emmett jokingly had dubbed in the in-between housem as in it was nuetral ground. The pack and the Cullen's had worked together to have it built and set up before we got back.

As we came to a stop, my mouth hit the floor. It was freakin' HUGE! A two story house made of smooth stones, a wrap around porch made of a beautiful natural colored wood, and a deep cherry wood door. It was literally massive. There was no telling how much money it cost them to build it. We were surrounded by the forest any way that we turned, and I could hear Levi and Cameron talking excitedly to one another. My eyes caught Carson's and we moved towards the house. It was bigger on the inside and expensively decorated, but I won't bore you with the details.

"So, what do you think?" Emmet asked.

"Do you like it?" Rosalie aounded anxious.

"I love it. It's gorgeous. Just do me a favor and never tell me how much you guys spent on this."

"Deal."

"Linzie, where are our rooms?"

"Probably upstairs, Cam. Go pick out whichever one you want."

"Actually, we have specific rooms for each of you." I raised my eyebrow in silent question towards Rose.

The two Cullen's that were left the responsibility of showing us our house walked up the stairs with all of us hot on their heels. Rosalie opened the doo to Cameron's room first and it fit her perfectly. There was a large painted mural of horses running on the largest wall with a queen sized bed jutting out from it. It held a desk with a brand new laptop, a printer and a dock for her IPod. The desk was white and recently remade. The floor was a light wood the gleamed in teh rays of sun coming from her large window. The closet was left wide opened and fully stocked with every type of clothing and shoe imanginable. It was simple and completely Cameron. Levi's room followed. He also had a queen sized bed set at the far wall, a desk made of dark wood, a computer, printer and dock with a new IPod. A large bookshelf took up the wall that held his window, stacked with books. It fit him. The walls were a light brown color with pictures of all of us on it in tasteful picture frames. I had no idea where they found them. The biggest one was of myself, Carson, Cameron, Levi and their parents. He hugged Emmett and Rosalie as tears flowed freely from his eyes. It was rare to get that much emotion from him.

"You're next, Linzie." Rose told me.

I nodded and followed. The door leading into my room was ornately carved with a picture of the forest, a giant wolfs head peeking through the trees. The wood was the color of Jacob's skin and I smiled. When Rose pushed the door opened, I was stunned. It was larger than both Cam and Levi's room put together. A large canopy bed sat on the wall to my left, the duvet was black and white and appeared to be made of the finest material. My walls were a light green with hand sketched picture frames that held pictures of all sizes, some of my family and other's of the Cullen's and the pack. French doors with white flowing curtains stood across from me, pulled firmly shut. I made my way towards them. On my way I noticed my closet doors opened and my own private bathroom, along with a desk and was a balcony on the other side of the doors and the view literally stole my breath. I could see the forest in all it's glory and a small stream bubbled up at me from near by. It was more than I would have ever thought to ask for.

"We put this here so you could go and hunt, even meet up with us and the pack if something serious was going on, without terrifing your cousins."

"Thank you guys, "I said, tears filling up my vision,"Thank you so much."

"Don't thank us. This was all Jacob's idea. He did all of this with little help from us."

I realized then just how much I owed Jacob Black. He had made this possible with his creativity and his natural compacity for love. I knew that the only thing he wanted in return was me, and I was just about ready to pay up.


	16. To walk in this world

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Okay, here is Chapter 15. Jacob and Linzie haven't really had any one on one time in a while. I'm thinking that I should make that up to you guys. I hope you like this chapter. It had to be done this way. I promise that there is a method to my madness. Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are AMAZING! Enjoy!

* * *

Linzie

The moon was high and full in the sky with millions of stars sparkling like diamonds. It was peaceful and cool as I ran through the thick forest. Carson was home with Cameron and Levi, who were both asleep. Thank God for small miracles. I was not far from Seatle, at the moment, and hot on the heels of some random nomad that had decided that dinner was somewhere in the city. It could not have been more wrong. I felt my muscles flexing powerfully as I gave chase, the quick rush of the cool air entering and leaving my lungs, and the excited beating of my heart under my rib cage. It had been a long time since I just hunted, a long time since there was not any immediate threat that I had to get rid of. There was no newborn army at my door, no immediate threat of the Volturi showing up at any second, no crazed tick looking for revenge. There was just me and the nomad I was chasing.

He glanced over his shoulder quickly and growled in frustration. I smirked. He thought I was just some territorial vampire trying to chase him from it's city. Wrong again. I sped up and lunged when I got close enough, hitting him so hard the sound our bodies made ricocheted like a cannon blast. We fell to the ground and he pushed me off of him, stood, and crouched. I loved it when they fought. He lashed out at a speed that was impressive, even for a tick, but he stil was not fast enough. I deflected. We began a perverse dance of predators. It was beautiful and deadly. One of us was not leaving these woods alive, and it would not be be. He swung again and I caught it, bored with either the partner or the dance. I could not be sure. I snapped his arm off with little to no problem and made quick work of the rest of him.

I pulled the zippo from my pocket, struck it, and dropped it on the pile of distorted body parts. The sickening sweet smell of the living dead filed my nostrils but I ignored it, watching the un-named nomad burn to ashes before turning and leaving. A small smile graced my face as I sped back towards home, back towards my family and Jacob Black. They were all going to be right pissed at me for taking off alone, all of them except Carson. My brother understood that hunting is how I dealt wih loss and pain. It was how I dealt with death. It had been weeks since we had moved into our new house, sent the kids to school, and buried the last family the four of us had left. Every night I had left to hunt, and every night when I returned Jacob was waiting for me. His eyes always dark and smoldering in anger and fear, his limbs shaking ready to phase and because he fought against it, the dusting of red across his flushed face. It was sensual and sexy. I was sure tonight would be no different.

I entered the woods and turned sharply to the east heading towards my home. I could hear the pack's paws pounding the Earth behind me, the swoosh of their breath as they ran, the snarls and growls as the drew closer to me. They were all over protective. It was like living with multiple Carson's watching my every move. I slowed as I approached the front door of the house and unziped the black jacket I was wearing, pushing open the front door. Carson was sitting there watching some show on the new big screen. I smiled at him and grabbed the warm mug of coffee he had waiting for me, taking a sip and relishing in the small pleasure. The pack filed in, their eyes narrowed in no small amount of anger, and I raised my eyebrow in question. Carson stood beside me waiting.

"Where the hell did you go tonight?"

"Please, lower your voice. I do have two completely human children upstairs sleeping."

"Do you think they would be happy with you taking off alone in the middle of the night to hunt monster's?"

"Probably not, but they're none the wiser and I would like to keep in the way."

Everyone remained quiet other than Jacob and myself. Carson stood beside me, offering no help. It was weird that Sam would allow Jacob to speak for the pack when he was the Alpha. I had noticed that when it came to me he tended to do that, and recently I had begun to wonder why. Anyother time, it was Sam doing the talking. I could see the anger on Jacob's face matched by his brother's, but they did not offer their opinions. It was odd to say the least but it did not bother me. I could handle myself. They did not seem to think so, but I could.

The tense silence continued and I knew that Jacob was trying to remain calm, trying not to yell so as to let Cameron and Levi sleep. It would not be long until he exploded, however. It may not be tonight, it may not be tomorrow, but it would be soon. They knew how I felt about letting my younger cousins into our world. I did not want them walking in the world of monsters knowingly even if they did already in ignorance. Ingnorance was bliss. There were times when I wished I could forget the world I was bound too, but I did not have the luxury. They had not had a lot to do with the Cullen's or the pack. Only a few of them were around frequently. At the same time, I knew that they were becoming suspicious of our friends. Neither of them were stupid and they came to conclusions quickly. If they woke up during this arguement there would be no going back for them.

"Listen, I understand that you guys are worried about me. I appreciate it, really, I do. But I can take care of myself."

"And what happens when your gone one night and get hurt, Linzie? What are we suppose to tell your cousins when you don't come home and we can't find you?"

"Don't you dare bring them into this, Jacob! Carson knows full well where I am every night that I leave! I'm not completely stupid, despite what you seem to think."

"I don't think you're stupid. I'm worried about you, can't you see that?"

Our voices had raised to an alarming level. I was vaguely aware of rushed footsteps moving around upstairs for a moment before they pounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. It did not matter now. I was too furious and even Carson's calm warning tone did nothing to break through the red haze taking over my vision. I was tired of this! I was tired of everyone thinking that I could not handle myself. I was never gone longer than a few hours, I told Carson exactly where I would be and how long I would be gone. I was not just taking off into the night leaving them nothing.

"I know you're worried about me! Hell, you make that clear every night when I get home, but one vampire isn't going to finish me off! I've been doing this far longer than you have, Jacob Black!"

"I know that! Can't you just take one of the pack with you? Even one of the Cullen's, just in case you get out numbered?"

"Hunting them is something I have to do alone! They can smell you and the Cullen's from a mile away! Keep your fucking hypersensitive nose out of it!"

"Linzie?" Levi asked quietly.

My back straighten automatically as I fully realized that they had heard every word we had just said. I turned and looked at my younger cousins and felt fear swell in my chest. Levi stood protectively in front of Cameron, his eyes looking everywhere all at once. I glanced at the pack and saw that they looked uncomfortable and repentent. I sighed and faced Levi. This was going to be difficult.

"You guys should be in bed."

"Hard to sleep with all the screaming." Levi said, glancing around, "Everything okay, Linz?"

"I'm fine, Levi. Just a little misunderstanding."

"About vampires?"

Carson tensed beside me and I had the biggest urge to bang my head into the counter, "Heard that, did you?"

"Yes, and something about a pack. A pack of what?"

"Why don't you guys go back upstars and go to sleep? We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"We have school."

"You're staying home. Go back up and go to sleep."

The hesitation Levi and Cameron showed as they made their way back to their rooms broke my heart. There was not a doubt in my mind that what Jacob had said about me not coming back struck a cord in them. I know they meant no harm by coming here tonight, and I honestly was not angry with them, but I was terrified of what I was about to do. After weeks of keeping this away from my cousins, I was going to have to tell them the truth. They were going to find out that the monster's their parents told them were not real, really were. They were about to find out that Carson was one of them, and that I hunted them. They were about to find out that their aunt and uncle were killed by the same type of monster that Carson was. They were about to find out that our friends were monster's too.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes tightly. I had failed them. There was no protecting them from this. Maybe they would have been better off as wards of the state. I felt the heat off of Jacob's body before he ever touched me. I turned to him and placed my face on his chest as he placed his strong arms around me. Every other word out of his mouth was an apology, I appreciated it, but there was nothing for him to apologize for. It would have happened eventually. I heard Sam asking Jacob if they needed to stay or leave and I felt Jacob shrug in response.

"You might as well stay." I said, my head still on Jacob's firm chest.

"She's right. This involves all of us. The Cullen's will have to be here too." Carson agreed.

"Jared, Paul, and I need to go get the girls, "Sam told us kindly," Maybe it would be easier if they knew that other humans lived around us, as well."

"That's a good idea.."

"Quil, go to the Cullen's and tell them what's happened. Come straight back here."

"And be sure to tell them to eat on the way." Quil left and I turned to my brother, "You too, Carson."

Carson smiled and kissed the back of my head before he left. I sighed. It was late, very late, and I could feel the exhaustion creeping up on me. Jacob continued to hold me. Everything was quiet now. the pack had left, Carson was gone, and neither Jacob or myself could think of what to say. The only thing I could hear was the soft hum of the refrigerator and the low voices of my cousins upstairs. They were not going back to sleep anytime soon. I dropped a kiss on Jacob's chest, letting him know that all was forgiven, before I pulled myself away from him. I was starving, my cousins were up, and the pack was always hungry. Therefore, it was time to cook. I pulled out everything I needed for a large breakfast and set to work. I did not know about anyone else, but pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy sounded wonderful.

The sizzle of bacon on my mother's cast iron skillet was familiar and calmed me, along with the smells of early mornings back home. Jacob stood at the counter with a grittle cooking the pancakes. I heard hesitant footsteps at the stairs again and looked up. Both Levi and Cameron gave me a small, reassuring smile and I nodded. They cam immediately to help. By the time the pack, the Cullen's, and my brother arrived, the food was finished and was being laid out like a buffet. Sam smiled at me as Cameron, Levi, myself, and the girls made our way down the line. It had become habit around the pack to be sure we got our fill the first time around.

As we ate, Everyone talked quietly amongst themselves. Cameron and Levi refused to leave my side, so they shared the couch with me. Jacob sat in the floor at my feet eating. I was finished and nervous. My hand found his hair and I ran my hand through the thick, black locks. They were smooth and silky. Something that Jacob had in adundance. It was how he talked, how he moved, how he thought; he was never really mean. Oh, he tried and could succeed depending on what the circumstance was, but it was rare. His dark iris' found mine as heat enveloped my hand, our fingers interlocking. He kissed the skin there and gave a gentle squeeze. I smiled and nodded. Message received. He wanted me to calm down. How could I not be with him here?

I washed all the dishes as Jacob put what little food we have left over up. My hands had started to shake. I knew Levi and Cameron. Cameron would laugh and demand proof. Levi would get angry because we had been lying all these years and flip out. I did not even want to think about what proof they would need to believe this. It was a little far fetched. Jacob wrapped his arms loosely around my waist, his hands sat low on my stomach, and dropped a kiss on my shoulder. The tension relaxed and I melted back into him.

"Everything will be okay, Linz. I wish you didn't have to do this. I know how much you wanted to protect them from this world. I'm sorry, honey."

"It's not your fault, Jake," I kissed his cheek and stepped out of his arms, "It was a long time coming."

I leaned against the wall and watched everyone interact with each other. Cam and Levi were even comfortable around them. Seth and Leah were the only two not present. Someone needed to be running patrols and they had volunteered. I laughed when Embry drug Levi into a agrument about cars. He was about to learn all kinds of stuff from my younger cousin. Cameron was talking to Sam, Emily, Rosalie and Emmett. Whatever they were talking about was hilarious to her. I was just amazed to see Rose so close to the pack and being nice. The topaz of her eyes locked with mine and she smiled. I nodded and smirked in return. I couldn't put this off any longer. Jacob's hand ghosted across my lower back as he went to join the pack and I sighed.

"Cameron, Levi, could you come here, please." They knew it was not a request, it was an order. They walked over to stand before me and I drug in a deep breath, "I believe you have a few questions for me."

The room fell quiet around us, and the glanced around before they nodded. "Well, ask, then." Carson told them as he took his place beside me.

" Just tell us what's going on. We'll ask our questions during." Levi said. His body was tense and I raised an eyebrow.

"That's a bit hard to do, considering we don't know what you think you know. If you haven't noticed, Levi, this doesn't just involve us." Carson said, his finger pointing over our younger cousins shoulder.

"Why would you be arguing over vampires, Linzie? We all know they aren't real. We thought it was maybe a code for..." I raised my hand to silence her.

"Levi, take your sister to the couch. Cam, don't argue." I told them. The people taking up the couch moved quickly and the siblings took their seats, "I was simply going to answer your questions, but you obviously don't have a clue what's going on. So, I'm just going to give you the facts. I didn't want you two to know about this world that Carson, myself, and everyone here walk in, but after what you heard tonight it's unavoidable. You can ask all the question's you want, once I'm finished. Do you understand? Both of you?"

"Yes." they said together.

"Good," I took a deep breath and locked eyes with my cousins, "Fact: Vampires are very real, Cam, and very deadly. They're wicked fast, strong, and look completely human. The one exception is thier eyes. They can either be the color of Carson's and the Cullen's or ruby red." The Cullen's stepped up beside my brother and my cousins froze, " Fact: Not all vampires will try to kill you, not all of them want your blood. Some, like the Culen's and Carson feed off of only animals, thus the difference in their eye color." My brother and the Cullen's moved away from me and Jacob and the pack made their way towards me, "Fact: There are two things in this world other than vampires that can destroy them. Jacob and the other's you see before you are wolves. Not werewolves, that requires them to change with the lunar cycle. They are more like shape shifters designed to protect their tribe from vampires. They haven't tried to kill the Cullen's or Carson because they reached an agreement."

"You really expect us to believe this?" Levi questioned.

"Shut your mouth until I'm finished, " I told him, and then moved on, "Fact: The second thing that can kill them is a or the Slayer. This is a human female with the strength, speed, and immortality of a vampire. She also has natural healing abilities, a lure, and the sneses of vampire's to aid her. She's trained by a Guardian until she has learned all that she can. Then she is left alone. I am The Slayer. I go out hunting vampires every night," My body was shaking due to nerves and Jake placed his arm around my waist to steady me, "Fact: The vampires you have seen on television are not what they are like. They don't burn in the sun, they sparkle. Sorry, guys, that's as good as I know how to describe it, " Carlisle smiled at me, "Garlic, crosse and Holy Water also have no effect. Their skin is as hard as a stone. All they have to do is bite you to channge you. This is because f their venom. It's kind of like a snake, I guess. Right now, I think that's all you need to know. I'll anser any questions you may have, but I have one rule. You do not tell anyone abou tthis. They will think you're insane, for one, and it will endanger them. Do you both understand?"

"I don't know what happened to you or Carson, Linzie, but if you don't want to tell us the truth you should have just told us to forget about it, not lie!" Levi jumped and yelled. Jacob growled.

"That is the truth, Levi, one more thing about vampires," Carson placed his bare hands on bother of their shoulders, "They are cold as ice. Tell me, Levi, what color eyes does Carson have?"

"Dark brown. They've always been dark brown."

"Really? You sure about that?"

Levi turned and looked Carson in the eye, scrambling away from him when he noticed the topaz color. Perhaps it was a little immature to bait him the way I did, but he was going to have to understand that this was not a game. I didn't make all this stuff up as an avoidance tactic. Levi turned towards the pack and backed towards me when he noticed their bodies trembling. I waved my hand to the door and we made our way out onto the porch. Jake and his brothers formed a line and I nodded. One by one, each man burst into a giant wolf. Cameron screamed and Levi tried to back away, my hands found both of their arms and held them in place. It was not over yet.

Jacob phased back and stood beside my cousins, hlding onto each of them like I was. Carson and I moved from the porch to the yard. I smiled at him and he grinned. Boy did this bring back memeories.

"No holding back, Carson."

"Didn't plan on it, Linz."

He moved then. The speed he used would be hard for Cam and Levi to keep up with, but they would understand. We sparred for a while, neither of us landing a direct hit. I grabbed his arms, threw him to the ground and raised my fist above his head. One well placed punch and his head would snap off, at least if I hit him as hard as I would a nomad. I smiled at him and stood, reaching to to help him hoist himself up. Cameron and Levi were stunned. Jake did not even have a hold on their arms anymore. I slowly approached them and looked into their eyes separately. Levi's emotions were wild. He did not know what to feel. Cameron was amazed and slightly afraid.

We all went back inside and I faced them again. I wanted to give them a chance to ask whatever questions they needed answers too, but after ten minutes of silence it was abvious that their brains were on over load. There was only on thing left for me to say.

"Listen, guys," I said. Their eyes shot up to meet mine and I smiled, "I know that this is a lot to take in. I know this is terrifing, but none of the people you see here would ever hurt you. They would risk their lives to protect yours. You aren't in any danger here. Take some time to fgure out what you want to know, and then Carson and I will answer your questions to the best of our ability. Now, Carson and I will understand if you no longer want to live here with us. We will still love you and you'll always have us when you need us. Your case worker will be here in two days to check on you. if you want to leave, tell her then, but you still can't tell anyone abou tthe things you saw and what you know. It's too dangerous for them and you. Alright?"

Levi nodded, "Alright, but we aren't going anywhere. I may not like what I see or what you are both apart of, but I know you would never let anything hurt us."

"You're right. We wouldn't." Carson smiled at them.

"Can we talk tomorrow night?" Cam asked.

"Tomorrow night, it is. We will be all yours."

"Jacob, will you be here?"

"If you want me here I will be." Jacob said shocked.

"Please."

After that, everyone left and we all went to bed. I was exhausted both mentally and physically. I knew that tomorrow night would be the same thing. Apparently, I was not going to be getting a break from the supernatural for a while.


	17. Talks and Riddles Answered

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it.

Author's Note: Well, this took me long enough, didn't it? Sorry about that. I hope you like it. Remember, reviews are encouraged. Thanks so much for reading and to all of those who review. I really appreciate it. Because of all your support, I have decided to leave you a little present. When you reach the bottom of this chapter, there will be an excerpt from a future chapter. :) Enjoy!

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Linzie

I did not know what to expect when we sat down with Cameron and Levi the next night, but what ever I thought they would say or do did not happen. They were very calm and curious. There was no residual anger and fear left in them as they sat with us. They were now under the impression that they had the coolest cousins on the planet. I wish I could see it like that. I explained what a Slayer is in more depth and they took it all very well. Carson gave his explanation after me, and then there was Jacob.

Jacob was amazing with them. He told them the legends that went along with what he phased into, and held them in rapt attention for as long as he spoke. I sat and watched him. He had one arm on the back of my chair holding me as close as possible, his eyes sparkled with life and love as he spoke to Cameron and Levi, his chest was bare as usual, and he kept a soft smile on his face. Carson had told me once that this was how he looked anytime he was with me. It was odd. My older brother had always been over protective when it came to guys, but he really liked Jacob.

I reached up and took the hand that was sat on the top of the wooden table, interlocking our fingers. Jacob glanced at me and smiled. My heart skipped a beat and my breath caught in my throat. This god-like man wanted me, he loved me, and I was pushing him away because of revenge. I knew that no matter what I planned he would be with me. He would never let me go alone. I could die facing the Volturi, and I would die never really experiencing the relationship that this amazing man offered me.

I looked back towards my cousins and we talked for a little longer. They were going back to school tomorrow, so I sent them up to bed. Carson hunted last night so I asked him if he would hang here for a while. he agreed. Of course, Jacob instantly went to protest and I smiled at him and shook my head. He was confused.

"I'm not going hunting, Jake."

"Then why would you ask Carson to stay here? Don't lie to me, honey."

I laughed, " I'm not lying. I want to go to the beach and I want to go with you."

"Oh," For a moment he looked stunned then my favorite smile lit up his face, "Okay, then."

I raced up the stairs and into me room, stripping off my sweats as I went. I knew it was going to be cool tonight, but I was better equipped to deal with it. I threw on my green and black bikini before throwing jeans and a t-shirt on over it. I had not been to the beach to swim in forever. I could get frost bite from the cold and not care at the moment. I grabbed a bag, threw some food and drinks into it, and grabbed Jake's hand as I ran out the door. We ran all the way to the beach. It was invigorating. It had been a long while that I just ran without something to chase.

Before we moved here, the only time I used my excessive speed was while hunting. I never really had the chance to just run through the woods. I could here and they were beautiful. I dropped my bag in the soft sand and stripped off my clothing. The water was cold causing me to shiver as the first wave danced against my body. I smiled brilliantly and dived head first into the next wave that rushed towards the shore. Even in the water, I could feel the heat radiating off of Jacob's body. It was insane how much heat the wolves put off.

We swam and played in the water for hours it seemed. Finally, we left the sea and fell down onto the sand laughing hysterically. Jacob was highly impressed with my strength before, but now he held a whole new respect for it. Granted, it was humorous to him as well. The fact that I was barely over five feet tall and could throw himself and the other's around like rag dolls amused them all greatly. I reached in the bag and tossed Jacob a drink and a few sandwiches. He looked at me oddly.

"You guys eat more than anything or anyone I've ever seen. You can't tell me that you're not hungry."

"Point taken."

I smiled at him and we ate. Although I had been around Jake and the pack for months now, I still knew very little about them. Their pasts were a mystery to me just as mine was to them. Don't get me wrong, they knew a bit about my past but not a lot. I sighed and took a large gulp out of my water bottle. I really did want to spend time with Jake without everyone else around. I wanted to get to know him. Thus, the reason for us retreating to the beach. There was so much that I wanted to know. I wanted to know about his family, his friends, what he enjoyed doing when he wasn't running around protecting the tribe, and abut his whole thing with Bella. Anyone could see that something had once been there. Bella's jealous glares tipped me off if nothing else.

I turned to face him and he smiled at me. I smiled back. Jake's moods were infectious. Happy or sad, it didn't matter. Whatever he felt seeped into everyone around him. There was something about our relationship, though. It was so sudden, our need and love for each other. It was as easy as breathing. I felt like I could tell him anything, and with this constant threat hanging over our head, I think it's time that we get to know each other.

"What's your favorite color?"

He chuckled, "Where did that come from?"

I shrugged and gave him a small smile, "I don't know a lot about you."

"Blue. What's yours?"

"Green."

"No wonder you like Forks so much."

"I know, right."

We laughed.

"If you weren't the Slayer, what would you want to do?"

"When I was little, I wanted to be a doctor. My father was a doctor, you know. He would take me to work with him sometimes and let me talk to the patients on his floor." I smiled and looked out over the ocean, "He even had my own white coat made for me and gave me a stethoscope. He worked with cancer patients. There was this one man, he couldn't have been much older than my dad, that had been sick for a really long time. Anytime I came to the hospital, he would have a bag full of candy, toys, gift cards; just about anything you could imagine. His name was Greg. He let me pretend to be his doctor instead of my father. I loved him like he was part of my family."

"What happened to him?"

I shrugged and met his eyes, "He died when I was twelve. I went to the hospital one day after school and he was just gone. I cried for days."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," I smiled up at him, "What about you? What do you wanna do when you get out of school?"

"I want to open my own garage. Working on cars has always been a passion of mine."

"I can see that. Good thing you can fix a car. All I know about them is that if you crank it and put it in drive it gets you where you need to go."

Jake laughed, "Typical girl."

"Yeah, can't help it. Cars have never been my thing. At least not what's under the hood."

"Of course not. You were to busy chasing vampires."

"Tell me about it. How do you like chasing them?"

"I hated it, at first. The speed's great and the strength, but I felt like a freak. Now, it's not so bad."

"I can imagine that it bothered you. It would have bothered me, too. Hell, it does bother me."

"Me being a wolf?"

I looked into his worried face and smiled, "No, chasing vampires. I would give anything to be normal. If I were normal, my parents might still be alive and my brother would be off at college playing football and chasing girl, instead of chasing his next meal."

"That's not your fault, Linz."

"You sound like Carson."

"He's right."

"You don't know what happened, Jacob. Carson doesn't remember what happened, really. I should have been there. If I would have been at home, then they would have gotten what they came for and left my family out of it."

Jacob took my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. I turned to him. My eyes burned with tears as I looked into his eyes. He understood how I felt. He might not agree with it, but he understood. I could see all the compassion, sorrow and love swirling in his eyes. He was hurting because I was hurting. It humbled me and tore down my walls in a way I never thought possible.

"Maybe you're right, honey. But your parents and brother would have turned the world upside down trying to find you. They would have ended up dead wither way. Your parents wouldn't want you to think this was your fault. It's horrible how your family was taken from you, but you make them proud by doing what you do. You protect other families from having to go through what you and Carson did."

"I hope you're right."

"I am."

He smiled my favorite smile and we got up and started to walk down the beach. The moon was starting to fade. It was probably inching into the hours of early morning, but I didn't care. Jacob made me feel like my parents would be proud of the person that I am, of what I did. When they first died, I wondered if they would be disappointed in me. If they would blame me for what happened to them. Carson denied it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was my fault. I probably never would. In a way, I think they knew that I was different. I don't think they knew how exactly, but they knew I wasn't like everyone else on the. It was the way they looked at me when they caught me sneaking back in in the wee hours of the morning. I knew they were angry, but they said very little.

They first time that my mother and father caught me sneaking in, they looked at me like I was a mystery to them. They knew something was different about me after that night in the alley but they never asked. The papers started reporting fires and bodies drained of blood, things like that, and I think they knew that I had something to do with it. They didn't know what, and they certainly didn't think that I was draining the bodies of their blood, but they knew I was special. One night, a few weeks before they died, my mother waited up for me. She held the newspaper in her hand and she just stared at me for the longest time. It was like she could finally see me. She smiled gently at me, told me good job, kissed my head, and went to bed. She didn't say another word about it. It confused me to say the least.

"Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the story between you and Bella?"

I felt him tense beside me and his heart skipped a beat. His teeth worried his bottom lip and his eyes scrunched together. It was adorable and worrying at the same time. He sighed and glanced at me, taking my hand giving it a gentle squeeze. I didn't know if it was for my comfort or his, maybe both. He took a deep breath and raised his head. I waited.

"To understand me and Bella, you have to understand Bella and Edward."

I raised my eyebrow and nodded, "Alright, I'm listening."

"When Bella first moved back to Forks, we were strangers. I knew very little about her. The Cullen's moved back the same year. Something happened, I'm not sure what, and the next thing I know Bella and Edward were together. At the time, I didn't think a lot about it. I didn't know that they were vampires or that our legions were true. I thought they were made up stories. My father couldn't stand it. Bella got hurt at the end of her junior year."

"Doesn't seem so confusing so far."

He laughed humorlessly, "At the beginning of her senior year, Edward left her. She was like a zombie. Charlie was worried sick. Sam found her in the woods that day and how she looked still haunts him. All the life in her was gone. It was scary. It took months but she finally came around and, when she did, we started hanging out. I was trying to put her back together and I fell in love with her."

It was my turn to tense up and he squeezed my hand again, "Well, that's interesting."

"Yeah, I thought we were getting somewhere. I was wrong. The psychic leech, Alice, randomly showed up out of nowhere one day. She told Bella that Edward was going to kill himself, and Bella took off with her to Italy. I'm not sure what happened there, but when they got back it was all about Edward again, and I was left alone. I fought for her, but I obviously lost."

"Did you say they went to Italy?"

"Yeah, why?"

Everything started to click into place then. I understood why they were worried about the Volturi, and I was pissed. They knew that humans weren't suppose to be made aware of their existence, and they drug Bella to Volterra. They shouldn't have endangered her like that. What they hell were they thinking? I grabbed our stuff and started throwing it into my bag. When it was full I hitched it onto my shoulder and turned to Jacob.

"Volterra."

"I don't understand."

"Volterra is in Italy. It's the city where the Volturi live and rule. That's where Bella went when she left to save Edward."

"I'm still missing something here, Linz."

"That's the reason she and the rest of the Cullen's are so hell bent on changing her. The Volturi make the laws in the vampire world. The biggest rule that they have is that humans can't know that they exist. When they find out there are only two choices, they die or they're changed. Anything to keep the secret."

Jacob looked at me astounded. Whether it was because vampires had laws or because I could understand exactly why the Cullen's wanted to change his first love and best friend I couldn't be sure. All I knew at this point was that Bella had to be changed, she and the Cullen's had to go back to Volterra to prove it, or we were all royally screwed. I turned and started to make my way back home. Carson had to understand the severity of what we were facing. After that the path was clear. We had to talk with the Cullen's and the pack, and we had to get a hold on this fast.

I felt Jake match my stride but we kept silent. There was nothing I could say to make this any easier. He had to have time to work this out and accept it on his own. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he must be feeling. He was just told that the only other alternative for Bella was death. The kind of death that involved burying her. I didn't know what the pack would think about all of this, I didn't know what part I was going to be made to play, but I did know that this wasn't going to end as smoothly as the Cullen's hoped it would. The Volturi were vicious and manipulative. Nothing was as simple as they made it sound.

I walked into my home, dropped my bag on the sofa, and made my way towards the kitchen. I could smell the bacon cooking and Carson was standing in front of the stove talking and joking with Cameron and Levi. When we entered, Carson turned to us and smiled. It was quickly removed when he saw the looks on our faces. We had a silent conversation that he understood to mean that we would have to talk when the kids were gone.

"Linz, did you really kill a vampire with a single punch?"

I directed my focus to Cameron and smiled, "Yeah, a few years ago. He was young."

"Awesome."

"I see you guys talked Carson into cooking a four course meal for breakfast."

"We were hungry. Can you help me with this Algebra problem? I don't understand."

I leaned over Levi's shoulder and quickly done the math in my head. I pointed out what he had done wrong and explained how to fix it. After that, breakfast was finished. All five of us sat done to eat and when we were finished, the kids left for the high school. I washed the dishes while Carson ran upstairs to take a shower. It gave me time to get my thoughts in order. I had never dealt with this type of issue and I was worried about what it would mean for not only us, but the people of Forks and La Push as well.

"Okay, little sister, what's going on now?"

"Bella has been to Volterra."

Carson stopped and turned to face me slowly. His face was incredulous and disbelieving. Then it cleared into shock and anger. He understood this the same way that I did. Bella had to be changed. We talked through all our options and the only one that was safe and less harmful to our cousins was Bella being changed and going to Volterra to prove it. Jacob stood and turned to leave. I glanced at Carson and then followed him out of the house.

"Jake, hang on." I grabbed his arm and he stopped, turning to face me, "Are you alright?"

"You know that this can't happen, Linzie. It's against the treaty. Sam will never allow it."

"I know, but if they aren't here the pack can't stop them. The only other option is to fight them. We would all be killed, it's impossible."

He sighed and pulled me to his chest.

"Just talk to them. Tell them what's happened. Maybe they'll understand."

"Don't count on it."

He kissed my head and left. What I didn't tell him is that I wasn't. I knew that the pack would never go for this. I was actually betting on it, but he couldn't know that. I had already came up with another plan and it was one that they certainly wouldn't like.

* * *

Preview

_"You're the only one who can stop this!"_

_"What do you want me to do? They're the enemy, now."_

_"Do what you were born to do, Jacob! Take the Alpha position. Just because you imprinted on me doesn't mean that you have forgotten the love you felt for her. They'll kill her! Bella and her baby."_

_"That baby is already killing her!"_

_"Bella can live! She can survive if you'll give them permission to change her. Don't be stubborn now. If they come for her, they'll have to kill me in the process. Is that a sacrifice you're willing to make?"_

_Our eyes clashed and a staring match ensued. I knew that Jacob would do anything to keep me safe, but this was too much for me to ask. Even I understood that, but this was the only option we had. If the pack came for Bella and her unborn child, I would defend her. I didn't really have another choice. She was human and I was the slayer. It was my job to protect humans, despite what I may feel for a certain human. Bella was mine to protect, my responsibility, even if that meant fighting the pack and Jacob to protect her._

_I watched the pain and betrayal filter through his eyes without emotion. At least, without showing it. He was fighting against himself, his brothers, to try and protect me. The problem with me asking this of him was simple. He wasn't ready. Even I could tell that much. He was young and insecure in his ability to lead his pack without harming one of them. I allowed my eyes to fall closed and took a deep breath before opening them and nodding to him. His orders were absolute. When the time came, we would be on opposite sides and there was nothing either of us could do to prevent it._


	18. One step forward, Two steps back

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it. This is written for fun. I'm still very much broke, so I'm obviously not making any money.

Author's Note: Chapter 17! Yay! Not much more to go, I'm afraid. Wanted you guys to know that there will be a sequel to this. I'll try to get that to you as quickly as I can, but I have to finish my other stories first. Thanks so much for the reviews and continued support. You guys are awesome! Please, review. I love to hear from you guys. Thank you. Enjoy!

* * *

Linzie

I didn't know what to do exactly. Here we sat, in the Cullen's living room, planning on telling them that they could change Bella with zero problems from us and they drop this on us. How was this even possible? I looked at Bella in fascination and digust. It had only been a week since I had last saw her. She looked like she was going into her second trimester. That's right. Isabella Cullen was pregnant and I was at a loss. This changed everything. Again.

I could hear Carlisle explaining this particular problem, but nothing was setting in. The issue with his explaination was that he didn't really know much more than what we had gathered when we saw her. It was obvious that she was preganant and her preganancy was progressing insanely fast. Not to mention, it appeared to be taking a lot out of the poor girl. She looked exhausted and frail, but she was adamant that her baby live. Her husband and Carlisle had tried to talk her out of it. They were convinced that this would kill her.

"Just, stop. Hold on a second," I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, "How is this even possible?"

"We don't have a clue. As far as we knew, vampire's couldn't reproduce."

"Well, obviously that was the wrong assumption."

"Yes."

"What is it? Is it human?"

"We don't know."

"Can't you do an ultrasound?"

"No, we've tried. The womb is made out of our skin, it seems. We can't see through it."

I sighed and began to pace. This complicates things. Horribly. Bella refused to abort the baby, which is one thing I can understand. I would have killed her myself had she thought of it. Until I understood what it was doing to her. This baby would kill her. My stomach turned as I thought of how it would have to get out. Obviously, it wasn't fully human if it was going to have to chew its way out of its mother. What in the hell am I going to tell the pack? I groaned and ran my hand through my hair again.

The pack would pose another problem. They would want to kill it and they wouldn't want to wait until it was born. Problem 1: That meant they would have to kill Bella. Problem 2: I would have to prevent that from happening. Why did we decide to move to Forks, again? I turned and looked around the packed living room. This was straining not only Bella, but her family as well.

"What's the plan?"

"All we can do is keep a check on her and the baby."

"How long until that thing eats its way out?" My face showed my disgust.

"Another week, maybe two."

"Have you told the pack?"

"No."

I slumped down onto the sofa. This was so not going to end well. What the hell was I going to do about this? I heard the door open and I looked up, my face automatically losing color. Jacob stood in the door way, his body shaking violently and his face twisted into disbelief and anger. Shit. I moved before I really thought about it and forced his shaking body out of the front door and down into the yard. No sooner had his feet touched the grass, his body blurred and I lunged out of the way. My side made contact with the ground and I looked up into the eyes of the massive russet-brown wolf now standing before me. He growled and I shivered before standing to my feet.

Jacob glared at me and I raised my hands in a show of peace. I took slow, even steps towards him until I was within distance to touch him. His fur was soft and his natural warmth radiated from the skin underneath. I didn't know what to say to him and it's not like he could talk to me. So, I kept my hands on either side of his face and held his stare. Slowly, he began to calm down and he nudged me back towards the steps before phasing. My eyes raked his naked form momentarily before Carson appeared, handed him a pair of short, and he put them on.

"Jake?"

His eyes pinned me to the ground, "What the hell is going on?"

"Bella is pregnant."

He looked at me like I was stupid, but what else could I say? That was what was going on. Anything else beyond that, I didn't have a clue. I was just as confused as he was, but I could see in his eyes that he felt betrayed. He thought I knew more than what I was telling him, which was true in a way, I guess. I watched him pace and run his hand through his already tousled hair. He was frustrated and I couldn't blame him. So was I. His eyes raised to mine and I knew what he had to do. After he questioned me some more, of course.

"What else?"

"The baby is killing her. Bella isn't strong enough to carry it." I ran my hand through my hair this time and locked gazes with Jacob, "They don't know anything else about what's happening. They didn't even know that vampires could reproduce."

"How long until that thing is ready to be born?"

"A week, two, at the most."

"And then she'll be safe?"

I swallowed thickly and took a deep breath, "No."

"No?"

"The womb is made out of their skin." His eyes narrowed, "The baby will have to..."

"Will have to what, Linzie?"

"It'll have to eat it's way out."

My stomach lurched in protest to my statement and Jacob's face paled. Shock and disgust were the only emotions present on his face, and he was looking back at the house. His body had effectivly shut down with the news, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. Once he processed what I had told him, he would flip. His body started to shake and I moved towards him. My arms wrapped securely around his waist and I held on. If he phased, I was screwed. I felt his arms come around me and lock me into place close to his body. His face buried in my neck allowing him to breath in my scent. All I could do was hold him and whisper quiet words of comfort and undersanding.

I didn't know how long we stood out there wrapped around each other, but all to soon he pushed me away. His anger was still there and, for some reason, it was aimed at me. He looked at me like I broken his heart, like I betrayed him in the worst way possible, and I didn't understand. His too warm hands locked firmly around my upper arms. If I was anymore human, his grip would have seriously hurt. I would have bruises, that's for sure. His eyes glared down into mine and I waited with baited breath.

"How could you let this happen?" My eyes widened comically, I'm sure, "You're suppose to protect her."

"I can't protect her from herself, Jacob. I certainly didn't tell her to go jump in the sack with her husband. Now, let me go."

He seemed to realize that he was hurting me and dropped his hands, "I have to go tell Sam and the guys."

"So, that's it? You accuse me of not protecting her and then you run off to your pack?"

He spun back around to face me. I knew I was starting a fight, but I was pissed now, too. What did he want me to do? I can't follow Bella every second of the day. The fact is, he was more angry with me than Bella. What was so messed up with that was that I wasn't the one who got knocked up by a vampire and, yet, it was my fault.

"You kept this from me, from us! For what? To protect something that's slowly killing a human that you're suppose to protect?"

"I didn't keep a damn thing from you, Jacob Black! I walked in this house today to talk to them about the Volturi mess, and what do I find? A pregnant Bella."

"You should have watched her! You should have protected her from that!"

It hit me then, what he was really angry about. "This isn't about me, is it? This is about you and the fact that you couldn't 'protect' her from Edward. This is about the fact that she's carrying his baby and not yours."

His face turned malicious and his eyes burned into mine, "You don't have a damn clue what your talking about."

Without another word, he turned and left. My body was shaking in fear and pent up anger, and my heart ached due to the accusations he threw at me. Carson walked up and stood beside me, his cold hands finding the spots where the bruises were forming. I knew he was angry with the way Jacob had treated me. It wasn't his intention to hurt me. If he were completely human, the grip wouldn't have. I looked up at Carson as a tear rolled down my cheek and he wipped it away.

"The pack will come, Carson. I don't know when and I don't know what for, but they will."

"Everything will be alright, sweetheart."

I shook my head as more tears chased the first, "Not this time."

* * *

I was right, of course. Everything wasn't alright. The relationship between the pack and the Cullen's was completely severed, and their relationship with me was strained to put it lightly. They came the following day, in wolf form. I met them at the treaty line. Edward had to come with me because we both knew that they wouldn't phase back. Not even to talk to me. Jacob was there but we both gave the other a wide berth. The talk didn't go well. The wolves practically declared war on a child, or monster. What it was called varied depending on what side of the conflict you sat on and, because of the duty the title of slayer left on my shoulders, I was firmly stuck with the Cullen's and Bella.

I wished, at times, that I could stand on the opposite side of all of this. Maybe just on neutral ground. Watching Bella deterioriate wasn't the most pleasant thing I had done in my life and as much as I wanted to view the baby like the wolves did I couldn't. I couldn't let them kill a human woman to terminate her babies life. It didn't help me feel any better to know that I was right about this, however. Jacob still refused to speak to me, not that I was trying all that hard myself.

I needed to get out of that house and away from the tension, so I snuck out the door and into the tree line. I didn't really have anything that I needed to do, not that there was much that I could do. I was restricted to the Cullen's territory at the moment. So, I leaned against the nearest tree and took a deep breath. My arms were crossed over my chest, one ankle hooked on the other, and I was just standing there. My brain was trying to lock onto one of the many problems I needed to find solutions too but was failing. I was anxious, tense, and jumpy. I expected the pack to appear any moment and I wasn't the only one. The Cullen's patroled the land around their house in shifts, they could barely keep fed, and the anxioty was causing fights between everyone. Bella cried herself to sleep most of the time, her arms locked securely around her buldging belly, and I couldn't say anything to comfort her. All she understood at the moment was that her best friend was part of the small army that was coming for her child.

"Linzie?"

I glanced behind me and sighed again, "Yeah?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"I had to get out of that house. Too much tension."

Carson swung an arm around my shoulders and kissed my head, "What do you expect? They're waiting to be slaughtered."

"I know that. This whole thing is ridiculous."

"You know why they haven't attacked yet, don't you?"

"No. Should I?"

"You. You are the reason they haven't attacked the Cullen's yet."

"There is only one of me, Carson, and nine of them."

"Jacob's connection to you, then."

"His connection?"

"He hasn't told you, has he?"

I sighed in irritation, "Told me what, Carson?"

My brother looked into my eyes more intensely than he ever has before. It was like he was searching for something, but what it was? I didn't have a clue. Then, an internal battle began and he stared out across the forest before us. Whatever it was that Jacob hadn't told me was obviously important. Otherwise, Carson wouldn't hesitate in telling me. I could tell by the look on his face that even though Carson was hesitating, it wasn't something he saw as bad or dangerous. It calmed me to know that. Finally, after was seemed like an eternity, Carson faced me and took my hands in his.

"You're Jake's imprint, Linz."

"Um, Car, " I said confused, "I don't know what that means."

"You're his soulmate. The first time he saw you, he imprinted on you. That's what caused the instant connection between the two of you. He's in love with you, sweetheart."

My eyes widened and I felt my heart skip a beat. So, the only reason that Jacob had feelings for me was because of the imprint. Was that why I was in love with him too? The connection I felt to him now made perfect sense. I had the reason why it developed and happened so out of the blue. At the same time, it hurt to know that the only reason the man I loved felt the same was because of something outside of his control. Jacob never told me. With that thought, the first wave of anger hit me. Then it doubled when I realized that my brother had known and never told me. I yanked my hands free of his and turned to leave.

"Wait."

"No."

"Linzie, wait a second. What's wrong?"

I spun and glared, "What's wrong? You and Jacob kept this from me, and you both knew that I had wondered how it happened so quickly. What's wrong is that, now, I know that the man I love only loves me because of something he can't control."

"That's not how it works. If you'll just listen, I can..."

"No. I'm done listening. Leave me alone, Carson. I mean it."

I walked away, moved deeper into the woods. I could care less what the pack thought at the moment. They knew about this damn imprint too. Everything felt lke a lie, like he was forced to feel those things. He had admitted that he had been in love with Bella before we showed up. Why didn't I ask questions? I should have seen something odd about it. I had. All those times I wondered about the connection between us, and I never said anything. I reached the treaty line and looked around. I couldn't see anyone but that didn't mean that they weren't there. I whistled and placed one foot across the line. A grey wolf approached and I knew it was Quil.

"I'm crossing. You can tell Sam I said to kiss my ass and if he has a problem with it he'll deal."

Quil gave a single warning growl, but I crossed anyway. I didn't stop to look. I didn't care if they were going to follow me. I was going to the beach. To hell with them if they didn't like it. I looked around as I walked, allowing my mind to wander. The forest was so lush, green, and beautiful. The scenery calmed me. Moss crawled up the trunks of the trees covering the normal brown of the bark. I walked a bit further and then I heard it. The sound of paws thundering across the ground. I gritted my teeth and kept walking. If they wanted me off their land, they would have to kill me.

It got louder as whoever it was got closer. I didn't turn to see which wolf was dispatched to tell me to leave because I wasn't leaving. I didn't have to turn, anyway. The large black one I knew to be Sam jumped in front of me, blocking my path. I glared and tried to move around him but he stopped me. Finally, I sighed in irritation, folded my arms across my chest, and tapped my right foot. He gave me a look tha clearly told me to stay put and moved into the cover of the trees surrounding us. When he appeared again, he was human but shaking slightly.

"You know you aren't allowed to cross the line, Linzie."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn what I'm allowed to do. This is a free country and I'm human. There isn't a treaty restricting my movements."

"This is for our protection. You chose your side in this."

I snorted, "Right. Like I chose to be the slayer or chose for my parents to be murdered."

"This time you had a choice and you made it."

"She's human, Sam. I'm bound by my title, my blood, to protect her. It's not exactly a choice when I have to do it."

"We'll talk about this at the line. I'll explain why we have restricted your movements here."

"Oh, you mean like you explained about imprinting. Thanks, but no thanks. I've had enough lies and secrets to last me a lifetime."

His eyes widened and I glared. Silence surrounded us and I could see him thinking hard about something. His silence did nothing but make me even more angry because it confirmed that they knew and didn't tell me. I released a frustrated yell and made to go past him. He stopped me.

"I don't know where you heard that term, but I think you should talk to Jacob."

"I'm not talking to him. Period, end of story. Go back to guarding your line, Sam."

"You're angry."

"Hell, yeah I'm angry. All of you kept this from me. On top of that, it took mine and Jacob's choices away from us. He loves and cares for me because of this damn imprint."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, screw you, Sam."

"Linzie." He grabbed my arm.

"You have exactly three seconds to let me go or I'm going to give you a legitimate reason to ban me from La Push."

He let me go and I took off. I ran faster than I ever had, I think. It took a matter of minutes to make it to the beach that Jacob and I had swam at and I sunk down into the sand. The tears fell then in a mixture of anger, confusion, and heartbreak. I know I was probably overreacting, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't very good with love and all of that to begin with. Don't get me wrong, in a way I was glad that he imprinted on me because that meant that he was mine and I was his. The problem is I felt like it was forced, like without the imprint he would have never loved me. How was I suppose to think otherwise?

* * *

Jacob

It was the first day I had not had to patrol in what felt like years. I knew why Sam had let me off. I couldn't keep my thoughts on what we were suppose to be doing. Linzie was all that I thought about. Well, her and the thing she was protecting. Everytime I thought about her being at the Cullen's a righteous anger filed me and I phased. The last few days I had experienced less control than when the fever first hit. It felt like she was betraying me even when I knew she wasn't. Carson had met me at the treaty lines several times to talk to me, and one such time he explained why Linzie was defending Bella's baby and the Cullen's."

_"Jacob, you can't be angry with Linzie. This is her job, her duty. It's in her blood to protect all human life and, like it or not, that includes Bella."_

_"She chose them over me, Carson."_

_"No, she didn't. Linzie doesn't have a choice in this, no more than you had a choice in who your imprint was. To get to Bella, you'll have to go through Linzie. She loves you, Jake, but she can't chose you over her duty. No matter how much she may want to."_

I shook my head to pull myself out of the memory. Carson was right, and I knew it, but I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't fight my destiny anymore than she could. I glanced out of my bedroom window and a confused frown set in my face. Quil was running all out towards the house and I went onto the porch to meet him. Him being out of breath was a testiment to how hard and fast he had been going to get here. Worry hit me when Linzie's name fell from him lips breathlessly.

"What about Linzie, Quil?"

"She kn..knows, man, she knows about the imprint."

I'm _so_ screwed.


	19. Imprints, discussions, and ideas

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or anything to do with it. I'm still very much broke. This is just written for fun.

Author's Note: Chapter 18! Sadly, this story is starting to reach it's end. Don't worry. This will not be the last you see of Linzie, Carson, Cameron and Levi. That is a promise. I hope you enjoy this. Reviews are welcome and encouraged. Please, please, do so. I love hearing from you. Thanks to those who have reviewed. You're amazing. Now, on to Chapter 18!

* * *

Jacob

Good God, am I screwed. I stared at Quil in a mixture of horror and silent resignation. I knew she would find out eventually. Granted, I didn't think it would be until I told her. Then it hit me. Carson had told her. I wanted to be angry with him, but I understood that he was trying to help. That and everyone was waiting to go to war. Both groups, the pack and the Cullen's. Linzie was in the cross fire. That meant that Carson was trying to protect her and that he didn't want her fighting in this unless she knew the truth. There wasn't any telling what she was thinking right now, what she was feeling. Wait, how did Quil know that she knew? So, I asked him.

"She crossed the line about half an hour ago. She was pissed, man. I told Sam and he went to bring her back. That didn't go so well."

"What do you mean? Is she hurt? Is Sam?"

"No, she's isn't hurt and as for Sam, it's just his pride."

"Where is she?"

"She's at the beach."

I looked up into Sam's face and could practically feel the anger and disappointment radiating off of him. He had been telling me for months to tell Linzie about the imprint. I was stubborn, as usual. Now look where it got me. I just didn't want her to feel obligated to be with me because of the imprint. I wanted her to love me because she wanted to, because she choose too. I wanted our relationship to develop as normally as possible. I had tried to fight the imprint, might have succeeded too, had it not been for Linzie. I fell in love with her, not because of the imprint but because of who she is.

"What do I do?"

"Go talk to her."

"Does she even want to talk to me?"

"No, but talk to her anyway. Jacob, she's angry and hurt that you, and us, kept this from her."

"She's not mad about the imprint?"

"I don't think so. Just go and talk to her."

I looked in the direction of the beach and sighed. As angry as I was at the situation we were currently in, she needed me right now. She needed the truth. Why was I such an idiot? I met Sam's eyes again and he nodded, dragging Quil back into the woods with him. I watched the disappear and then turned to make my way to the beach. I walked slowly in order to get my thoughts together and prepare myself for the fight that was likely to happen. The fight Linzie had was one of the reasons I loved her, but her temper wasn't something I enjoed being on the wrong end of.

Within a few minutes, I was standing in the cool sand watching Linzie. She was sitting close to the water. Her legs were were crossed, elbows on her knees, and her head held in her hands. I could see the slight shake of her shoulders as she cried and my heart broke. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts tht she hadn't noticed me approach and stop to watch her. It was odd. She was normally so intune with everything around her. It just made me feel worse knowing that whatever her thoughts were, they were bad enough to pull her away from the world around her.

I took a deep breath and moved closer. Her back tensed and she raised her head, turning it slowly to glance over her shoulder. I didn't say anything as I took a spot beside her and neither did she. All she did was glare and then face the water again. There was so much I wanted to say, so many questions I wanted the answers too, and not all of it was kind or had anything to do with the imprint. I need to focus.

"I thought I told Sam that I wasn't going to talk to you."

"You need to talk to me."

"Carson told me all I need to know."

"Linzie, the imprint isn't all bad and it's not what it sounds like."

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" She looked at me, the honey color of her eyes had darkened and they were bloodshot, "Didn't I have a right to know?"

I sighed and turned to her, taking her hands in mine, "I didn't tell you because I wanted to build a relationship with you. I didn't want you to be with me because you felt obligated by the imprint. I wanted you to want and love me because you chose too."

"And you? You didn't chose me. You said yourself that you had loved Bella before I showed up. You never would have loved me otherwise."

"Yes, I would have. Linz, I tried to fight the imprint. I tried to stay away from you. I didn't love you when we started to get to know each other, it's when I got to know you that I fell for you."

"Really?"

I smiled at her, "Yes, really. Bella doesn't hold a candle to you, honey. She was my first love but you are my true love. You're funny, strong, compassionate, loving, protective, and sarcastic. You have a quick temper and can do stupid things every once in a while, but you don't let the opinion of others sway you. You make your own descions. Everyone here knows you can take care of yourself, but you let me take care of you too. You can pick me up when I'm down and you can knock me off my soapbox when I get on it. _I_ love you, Linzie, not the imprint."

She held my gaze intensley. I knew that she was looking for the honesty behind my words and I knew she would find it. I meant every word that I just said. It was true. We argued over things, mainly the Cullen's at the moment, but she never let my opinion sway her. She always stood firm and normally she was right. I watched her eyed brighten and a small smile tip the corner of her lips up. Her small hand laid itself on my cheek and then she kissed me. I was soft, sweet and loving at frst. Then, it morphed into something diferent. Passion, fire, possessivness; it was all there and I kissed her back with the same intensity.

She leaned back onto the sand and pulled me ontop of her. Her hands found my hair and gave it a gentle tug. I growled deep in my chest. My hands moved from her hips up her body slowly and then back down. I nibbled on her lower lip and she moaned, causing me to hitch her legs up and lock them around my waist. I could feel the weight of my erection between my legs and knew that she could feel it pressing into her most intimate place. She bucked her hips and I groaned. As much as I wanted her, I wasn't going to let our first time be on a beach were anone could walk by. So, I slowed the kisses down with herculean effort. She sighed.

"You're trying to kill me." I accused jokingly.

"Possibly, but it one have been a hell of a way to die."

I chuckled and kissed her quickly, "True, but I would rather not die. I plan on having many, many more encounters like that one."

"Do you, now?" She questioned laughnig.

"Most definitly."

I sat up and pulled her up along with me, wrapping my arm around her. She snuggled into my chest and planted a gentle kiss there. I had really missed her. Restricting her from the rez and not talking to her had taken a toll on me. It wasn't killing me or anything, it was just hard. I knew that our talk wasn't over. Well, it was about the imprint but there was still other things to discuss. From the way she just sighed, I'm wagering that she knew it too.

"Was Sam pissed at me?"

"A little."

She stood and began to pace. That was never a good sign. Her frustration was evident on her face, in the way she moved. She was getting really wound up and I couldn't stop it. We both had things to say on the Bella matter, specifically Bella's baby. She had been trying to talk us down, well Sam, and it hadn't been working. All of us agreed with him anyway. We didn't know what that thing was and, even if I didn't want to hurt Bella, there wasn't anything I could do about it.

Her eyes locked on mine and for the first time I noticed how exhausted she looked. Dark circles were starting to form beneath the eyes I loved so much, she was pale, and even appeared to have lost some weight. This really was hard on her. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to be pulled in two different directions, not like she was.

"Jake, what are you guys planning to do about Bella? You know you can't kill her."

"We don't want o kill her, it's the thing she's carrying that we want to kill."

"You can't do that without killing her. Don't you see how ridiculous this all is?"

"We don't know what that thing is, Linzie, but it's not human. You said that it would have to eat it's way out."

"And if it turns out to be human?" My eyes widened and she pushed again, "This has to stop. The Cullen's and Carson can barely keep fed, Bella is a hysterical nervous wreck, and I'm stuck trying to help her. We're on dangerous territory here. You guys aren't monsters but if you kill Bella, a human, you will be."

"I can't stop this."

"You're the only one who can stop this!"

"What do you want me to do? They're the enemy, now."

"Do what you were born to do, Jacob! Take the Alpha position. Just because you imprinted on me doesn't mean that you have forgotten the love you felt for her. They'll kill her! Bella and her baby."

"That baby is already killing her!"

"Bella can live! She can survive if you'll give them permission to change her. Don't be stubborn now. If they come for her, they'll have to kill me in the process. Is that a sacrifice you're willing to make?"

Our eyes clashed and a staring match insued. I knew that I would do anything to keep her safe, but this was too much for her to ask. Even she understood that, but this was the only option we had. If the pack came for Bella and her unborn child, she would defend her. She didn't really have another choice. She was human and Linzie was the slayer. It was her job to protect humans, despite what she may feel for a certain one. Bella was hers to protect, her reponsibility, even if that meant fighting the pack and myself to protect her.

She watched the pain and betrayal filter through my eyes without emotion. At least, without showing it. I was fighting against himself, my brothers, to try and protect her. The problem with her asking this of me was simple. I wasn't ready. Even she could tell that much. I was still young and insecure in my ability to lead my pack without harming one of them. She allowed her eyes to fall closed and took a deep breath before opening them and nodding to me. My orders were absolute. When the time came, we would be on opposite sides and there was nothing either of us could do to prevent it.

She knelt before me in the sand and laid her hands on each side of my face. Her eyes were filling with tears again and I didn't know how to stop them. She wasn't angry with me and I was shocked. We stared at each other for a while and then she kissed me softly and wrapped her arms around my neck. I held her to me. This was so unfair. I felt her tense and then she pulled away from me, a huge smile lighting up her face.

"What?"

"I have an idea."

"An idea?"

"Come on."


	20. Welcome to My Life!

Disclaimer:  I do NOT own Twilight! I'm still very much broke. This is only written for fun. No infringement intended.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed. You guys are awesome. I know this tooka good minute. Sorry. I couldn't decide if I need to write more or not. Now that Linzie knows about the imprint. The next few chapters will be about her and Jake developing their relationship. No drama. I intended for it to be funny. Hopefully that won't change. A few more things will happen. Can't wait to write those! Enjoy! Reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

Linzie

I practically drug Jacob with me down the beach and towards Sam's house. This was perfect, potentially deadly for me, but perfect. I had finally figured out a way to keep the wolves from coming. I knew that the pack would be out running patrols, well most of them, but I couldn't wait. As I push the front door open, I noticed Embry snoring away on the couch. His mouth was opened wide and a little drool was creeping down his cheek. I chuckled and Emily appeared in the kitchen door. I smiled.

"Hey, Em. Do you know when Sam and the other's will be back?"

"No, sorry. I never do."

"I'll just stick around and wait if that's alright."

"That's fine, Linz."

"Something smells good. What are you makin' in there?"

"Banana bread."

"Yep, I'm definitly sticking around."

We laughed. Emily and I made our way into the kitchen to sit at the table. Jake, on the other hand, stood over Embry thumping him in the ear and nose at random to see how long it would take for him to wake up. It was far to funny to tell him to stop. That was the thing about Jake, Embry, and Quil. All they ever did was screw with each other, which meant they constantly fought. One of them would lose their temper, phase, and then you would see a small group of large wolves rolling around snarling and , um, laughing? I don't really know what to call the sound they make. I would say it was a laugh. It was a weird cobmination of a bark and a growl, probably one of the funniest sound I've ever heard.

"Damn it, Jake!"

Emily and I laughed and shook our heads as Jake and Embry rushed out of the front door, and then their weird bark/growl sounded. They would be ou there for a while. Emily told me about the baby and the nursery. Apparently, Sam had founf the time to build a crib, with Jake's help, whil waging a war. It baffled me how they could multitask like they did.

"What about names? Have you guys decided?"

She smiled, "Landon Jacob Uley."

"I like it. What did Jake say about you guys using his name?"

"He was honored. It only makes sense to use the name of his godfather."

"Aw," I grinned, "I didn't know that ya'll made Jake the godfather."

"Sam picked him and I picked the godmother."

"Oh? Who did you pick?"

"Well, I was hoping that you would take the job."

I was stunned and the smile on Emily's face told me that she could tell. I was truely touched that she would pick me as the godmother of her child. Tears began to swim in my vision and I grinned through my tears and nodded. I was excited. After all, i wouldn't have any neices and nephews. Emily and I hugged as Jake and Embry walked back through the door laughing.

"Uh oh. We interrupted a female ritual of some kind." I heard Embry say to Jake.

"Since when do I participate in rituals?"

They both laughed and Jake kissed my forehead, "What's up? Why are you crying?"

"Em just asked me to be Landon's godmother."

"Really?" Jake glanced at Emily.

"Yes. Are you surprised?"

"Sorta."

Hey, Em. We're home."

We all turned to look at the door as Sam and the other's filed in. He froze at the entrance to the kitchen and I stood. Our eyes locked and a staring contest took place. I think he was shocked to see me there and I could feel the other's tense around us. It didn't matter. I was here for a reason and he would hear me out this time.

"Linzie."

"Sam."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your side of the line?"

My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly. He would make this difficult. I saw him glance at Jake, his glare making my imprint shift uncomfortably. He waved Emily over to his side and then pushed her behind him. I felt my face heat p in my anger. Was he serious? He was honestly going to stand there a treat me like I would hurt a human. Hell, he was the one who was planning on killing one to destroy her child.

"Stop treating me like I'm going to hurt people. I'm not a threat, Sam. You're being an idiot."

"I've asked you nicely..."

"More like ordered me. Look, I'm not here to fight an argue. I'm here to make a deal."

"We don't make deals with leeches."

"I'm not a damn leech! Listen to me! You can't attack the Cullen's and Bella without attacking me. It's my job to protect her. You don't have to like it, but it is what it is."

"I'm listening."

I took a deeep breath, "I understand why you guys are worried about the baby. There is a chance that it will not be human, it could be a vampire, but it could also be completely human too. The deal is this. You guys back off. Stop threatening the Cullen's. The stress is killing Bella. After the baby is born if it's not human, meaning it has no heartbeat, I'll kill it myself."

"How do we know your telling the truth?"

"Do you honestly think that if it's a threat to the human race I wouldn't destroy it?"

"Point taken. What's the catch?"

"I've given the Cullen's permission to change Bella after the baby is born. It'll have to eat it's way out. The only way to save her life it to change her. Not to mention that it heads off a few other complications as well."

"You what?"

"You guys have to give your permission as well. You may not like it, but this is the only way to save our lives. I'm asking you to trust me."

"It's against the treaty."

"I undersand that, but it's either give your permission or we all die."

"What do you mean?"

"Jake's told you about the Volturi?" He nodded, "They'll come to see tht Bella is changed. If she isn't, they'll kill not only her but everyone who knows about the existance of vampires."

"We can take them."

"Oh really? More than one hundred leeches against the nine of you, me, Carson, and the seven Cullen's? We would be slaughtered."

He sighed.

"Sam, I'm asking you to trust me on this. I wouldn't agree to it if it wasn't neccissary to protect everyone involved."

He stood there, deep in thought. No one said anything. We had to give him time to decide his next move. If he agreed to this, we all avoided one hell of a mess. If he didn't, well, I would worry about that later. I didn't know what he was thinking. I could understand how he was feeling, however. It was a lot like how I was feeling when this all started. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was absolutely no fun.

He looked at Emily and they seemed to have a silent conversation. Sam took in her stance. Emily's arms were wrapped tightly around her belly and she was curled into her self. She was trying to protect him. Her face was torn, shocked, and appaled. I took it to mean that she didn't ahve a clue that Bella was pregnant, or that they pack was playing on killing her. Finally, after endless minutes, Sam turned to me.

"Alright," The tension bleed out of me, "But if it's not human you have to kill it."

"You got it."

"Jacob, the only one who has the authority to give Bella the permission she needs is you. You're the rightful Alpha. That means that you have to go and speak with them."

"You're the Alpha at the moment, Sam."

"Ephriam Black made the treaty. You're the only one who can change it."

Jake sighed and a look of distaste crossed his features, "I really don't want to go over there. It's not pleasant."

"Welcome to my life." I said with a smirk.


	21. Of Teens, Wolves, and Demon Spawn

**Author's Note: **Hey , guys! First and foremost, I would like to apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out to you. Linzie and Jake were being theirselves and I couldn't quite make them do what I wanted too. I hope that all of you like this chapter. It's not exactly what i had in mind but this is how it came out. The next one will be up as soon as I can get it written. As always, Comments are appreciated and encouraged. I love hearing from all of you. Thanks to everyone who has been commenting even in the absence of updates. I truely appreciate it. Enjoy!

* * *

"Ah, come on, Linz! Please!"

"Cam, we've talked about this. It's not safe for friends to come over here, much less stay."

"You want us to act normal. How are we suppose to do that if we can't have friends come and stay? Or if we can't go anywhere without an escort? You act like your in the C.I.A or something."

I leveled Cameron with a glare and sighed. She had a point. I knew it wasn't fair to sentence them to the same life that I had to put myself through. In my line of work, friends weren't exactly safe around me. If they would have stayed with me on the weekends or, hell, even during the week, once they fell asleep I would leave. I had been so worried that the secret would get out that I sentenced myself to a life of exile. Cameron and Levi didn't deserve that. I looked between my two cousins and then Carson. He simply raised his eyebrow and shrugged. He was at as much of a loss as I was.

"Carson, what do you think?"

"I think that one weekend wouldn't hurt."

I sighed again, "Alright, fine. One friend a piece." they wooped, "But if Carson or I aren't here one of the pack will be. Deal?"

"Deal!" They yelled together.

I shook my head as they ran up the stairs chattering away. I hadn't seen them this excited in months. It was a small price to pay to watch them smile like that again. Carson smiled gently at me. I returned it. It wasn't everyday that we got to pretend to be normal, but we loved it one days like this.

"I think some of the younger pack members would work."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. The ones closer in age to Cam and Levi. They won't feel like they're being watched then." I replied.

"So, that leaves who, exactly?"

"Jake, Embry, Quil, Seth, Brady, and Colin. We could have Leah swing by and check on them."

"Yeah, and you might want to tell them to wear more than just their shorts."

"I will."

"Have you talked to Jake?"

"Not in a few days. Him and Sam were going to talk to the Cullen's today about the treaty."

"I still don't know how you got them to agree to backing off."

"I'm just that good." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes at me and laughed before he left for the Cullen's. It was their night to hunt. Carson, Rose and Emmett would be leaving in a few hours. I could hear both my cousins on their phones with their friends, telling them that they could come and stay the weekend. Both had their own cars, so I didn't have to leave to pick them up. I just hope they don't get lost on their way here. They bounded down the stairs, told me that it would be Chris and Brittany staying the weekend, and then went about doing their own thing. I had never seen two teenagers clean their rooms so quickly in my life.

A knock sounded at the door and I opened it to find Jake standing there. I smiled at him and he grinned at me before crushing me to him. I could smell the Cullen's all over him, but somehow it wasn't so bad mixed with his scent. Spice and the forest mixed with the sickening sweetness that clung to the Cullen's and made it's own unique scent. It was odd to think that just a few days ago they were on the brink of war. I moved out of his way to allow him into the house and he headed straight for the kitchen. It amazed me how hungry the pack stayed. We kept the house stocked with food for them. Not to mention that we had to feed myself, Cam, amd Levi.

"I see that you spoke with the Cullen's and no one died?"

He rolled his eyes and grinned, "Did you doubt us?"

"Judging by how you guys were acting a few days ago, can you blame me?"

He shook his head and sat down at the table, "Carson got there as I was leaving. He said he would be gone all weekend instead of just one night. He wanted me to tell you."

I nodded.

"Doesn't he normally just go?'

"Yeah, but we agreed to let Cam and Levi have a few friends over this weekend. That's why you were a messenger."

He went back to eating with a semi-surprised look on his face. He knew as well as I did that allowing that small thing could be disastorious. If something went wrong and one of them phased or a vampire attacked then that would be it. The secret would be out. There was no way that we could control two more teenagers than we already were. Half the time it was hard to keep Cameron and Levi's mouths shut about it, much less two more human teens that we didn't see on a daily basis.

He finished and went to the sink to wash his plate. I sipped the tea I was holding in my hands. This was a fairly normal routine. Jake was here more often than not. So much so, that Cam and Levi had started calling him their cousin-in-law. I placed my empty glass in the sink and leaned against the counter.

"You don't like it, do you?"

He looked at me momentarily in deep thought, "I just think that it's a huge risk. With how strained things are right now, it could be dangerous."

"I know, but I don't want them to have to miss out on things like I did. I never had friends stay over after I got into high school. I went from the top of the food chain to the bottom in little less than a month. They don't deserve that."

Jake wrapped an arm around my shoulder and kissed my head, "I understand. We'll try our hardest to keep any supernatural stuff out of here for the weekend."

"Can you and some of the younger guys come and hang here for the weekend? I have to hunt."

"Hunt?"

"Remember? There have been missing persons and murders galore in Tacoma."

"Oh, right. Of course we can hang here. Who do you want?"

"I was thinking you, Embry, Quil, and Seth. Leah could swing by to check on you guys while I'm gone just in case you need anything or something is going on."

"Sure, sure. I'll tell Sam. When are the other two getting here?"

"An hour at most."

We set about straightening the house after that. Every so often Jake would find something to hurl my way then I would throw it back which would result in some kind of tickling battle that he always won. It really sucked dating a shapeshifter. I could never get the upper hand. As soon as we got settled on the couch, two cars pulled up. Jake groaned and I chuckled but didn't move from the position I was in. Jake's arm was around my shoulders and I was leaning into him with my feet folded under me. When Chris and Brittany walked in I smiled and looked them over. They were normal but good looking kids. Chris had short brown hair and brown eyes, a strong jaw, and a nice smile. Brittany had dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes, and was already bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet as they were being lead towards Jake and I.

"Linz, Jake, this is Chris Nelson and Brittany Duncan."

"Nice to meet you." I said, standing and shaking each of their offered hands.

"You too, ma'am."

I snorted, "I'm only eighteen. No need to ma'am me. Linz or Linzie is just fine."

"Alight."

Jake reached over me and shook their hands briefly, "I'm Jake, Linzie's boyfriend."

"Hey." they said.

"Well, welcome to our place. Make yourselves at home. We have a lot of different people coming in and out, so don't think anything of it. I'll be leaving for work in a few hours, but Jake and a few of his friends will be here with you."

"Thank you."

I nodded and Levi and Cam lead their friends up the stairs and into their rooms. To kill time, I cooked enough to feed Jake and the other's along with the four humans they would in charge of for the night along with leaving instructions on what could and couldn't go on while I was gone. I wouldn't be gone all night, just a few hours, but I knew how teenagers were. Jake reassured me that everything would be fine and he would call me if anythig even acted like it was going to happen. I kissed him breifly and called the kids down.

"I'll only be gone for a few hours. You two, " I said pointing to my younger cousins," know the rules and I've alerady informed Jake and the other's of what is and isn't allowed. You won't be able to talk them into anything so don't try. Other than that have fun. I'll see you in a little bit."

They turned to walk up the stairs and I heard Chris whisper to Levi, "What does Linzie do, exactly?"

"No idea." I grinned at his response as I left for Tacoma.

* * *

There was certainly something going on that shouldn't be. The number of vampires had grown exponential since I had last visited and more than half were newborns. i caught glimpses of twins, a boy and a girl, that I was certain I had seen before somewhere. It made me nervous. I watched their patterns for a few hours and then made my way back to Forks. Half way there I got the call. Bella had went into labour. The little monster would be here soon and Roalie and the other's were on their way back. I pushed my legs to go faster and called Jacob. He didn't freak out, thankfully. He just told me to be careful and to have fun with the little monster. That was putting what he said nicely.

It took me almost an hour to get back to the Cullen's and I froze as I pushed their front door open. Blood was the first thing I smelt and it made my stomach lurch uexpectedly. I turned my head, took a deep breath, and forced myself to enter the house. I could hear frantic voices upstairs and I followed them. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Edward stood there covered in Bella's blood. It was on his clothes and even around his mouth, not to mention the was a lot all over the pale body that lay on the small hospital bed. I watched in morbid fascination and he bit her. It wasn't just in one singular place either. It was everywhere that there was a major artery. Carlsile had made it back and I shivered as he plunged a surenge into her chest. It made a sickening pop.

"Come on, Bella. You can't leave me."

They started chest compressions, which seemed completely pointless. Vampire venom was powerful but I had never seen it work on someone that was already gone. Then I heard it. The sluggish beating of a heart that was fighting to live. The girl had more strength than I gave her credit for. Rosalie left the room, a small bundle cradled in her arms, and I knew what I had to do. I had to ask rude questions about the baby. They were going to be oh-so-happy with me.

"Carlisle?"

"Linzie, I didn't hear you come in."

It was a testiment to how much they cared for Bella that he didn't hear, "Is it human?"

Edwards eyes snapped to mine and I met his stare. Carlisle sighed, "It's humanoid."

"What does that mean?"

"It's not exactly human."

I clamped my eyes shut and felt tears rising. I didn't want to kill a child, no matter what it was. Edward snarled and moved between me and the way to his child. I stared at him. Carlisle looked sad, like he understood exactly what it meant, but I wasn't done with the questions yet. I ignored the snarling father behind me and faced Carlisle again.

"Does it have a heart beat?"

"Yes, he does but it isn't much of one."

"I need to know what he is, Carlisle."

"He's part human and part vampire. He seems to have a particular fondness for blood but his skin is warmer than ours and he does have a heart beat. It's simply slower than normal humans."

"But he looks more like you guys do? Eyes and all?"

"His skin is hard but not quite like ours and, from what we can tell, his eyes are green with a red circle around them. That would be from the blood that Bella drank during the pregnancy."

I swallowed thickly, "I need to see him."

"Never!"

I looked at Edward and glared. Carlisle placed a hand on his shoulder and turned to me, "Come with me."

I followed the good doctor back down the stairs and into the living room. He whispered something to Rosalie and she handed the baby over hesitatly. Then, she glared my way. I knew what it meant. If I hurt that child, I would have hell to pay. I really hated this job. Carlisle moved to stand before me and placed the bundle on my waiting arms. His little hand was sticking out and I allowed it to wrap it's hand around my finger. I shivered. His body temperature was warmer than the other Cullen's but not by much. I strained my ears and listened for the sound I needed to hear to keep from killing him. Finally, after a few moments, I heard his heart give a sluggish thump against his chest. It did this for a while, stopped briefly, and started again. I honestly didn't know what to do.

"Bella will be changed in three days?"

"Yes."

"I'll be back then. I don't know what to do about this, to be honest."

"I undersand."

"I'll keep the pack off your backs, but prepare them for what may have to come."

He nodded sadly and I sighed as I left their home and rushed towards mine. The child was barely an hour old and he had already committed his first murder. There was nothing in the hand book about this. Sadly, my slayer gene was fighting against itself. One minute I wanted to turn around and kill the baby and the next I felt the need to protect it. I was seriously giving myself a headache.

I walked into my home and was so into my own thoughts that I didn't even realize my house was full of pack memebers until Jacob wrapped his arms around me. No one said anything for a while. They let me think and I was grateful. I didn't know what to tell them or how to explain what I had learned and saw at the Cullen's. I didn't understand it myself. Jake's silence told me that he understood something bad was happening inside my head, something that was hurting me, but he knew that I would figure it out. The bad thing was that we really didn't have time to riddle it out all the way. Did I mention I really, really hate this job sometimes?


End file.
